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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17,1994
Editorial
What Follows Aileen ?
In one sense] the news that the Aileen plant in Flint Hill will close in October was no surprise at all.
• However, even after layoffs and stories of an impending closure that have circulated for years, the final word came as a shock to those dedicated employees who have labored there for years. They will get no severance package, and retirement benefits will be offered only to those with extended service. ,
Perhaps the hardest news was the reason behind the closing. Aileen, like so many American companies, cap make more money by exporting its raw materials to other countries that pay significantly lower wages than American workers earn — not that any of the employees at Aileen were socking away millions from their paychecks, either.
After the manufacturing is completed the finished v products are reimported for sale to U.S. customers, ' generating a tidy profit for Aileen.
There’s nothing new in this process — it’s been happening for years. What’s new, and newsworthy, is that this time it’s our neighbors who are left without jobs, without medical insurance, without severance pay and, in many cases, without retirement benefits.
The argument advanced by free trade advocates is that those manufacturing jobs are low-skill, labor-intensive jobs, which should be sent overseas and replaced with high-tech, high-skill jobs here.
But where are those jobs? Probably not here, and even if they were would the Aileen employees receive the\ training necessary to make them competitive?
And how about the tax revenue the county has lost. In addition to the taxes paid by Aileen for its property here, there were taxes generated from the income of the workers who live here.
There is also the Aileen plant itself. The building and site will presumably be sold, but for what use? That could be a tremendous opportunity, or a disaster.
These are tough questions facing the county and its residents. In the coming weeks, the supervisors should carefully consider how the county should best fill the void left by Aileen.
Eight little character traits
behaving very well
Will parents teach their children these?
Who can ever tell?
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