NAFTA gets blamed for every industry that vacated but it mostly impacted machine parts manufacturing. The textile stuff was already moving to countries where it could exploit cheap labor spurred largely by the expansion of retailers like Walmart, Kmart, etc demanding lower and lower prices. The biggest impact of NAFTA was agricultural. It has been an overall boon to certain types of American farming and greatly expanded markets for Mexican and Canadian agricultural goods as well.Unfortunately, NAFTA hit traditionally unionized work hard, and expanded labor growth in traditionally seasonal work with exploitative labor practices.
They closed here in the 1990s. NAFTA might not have been to blame for all the factory closures, but it did nothing to help the suddenly-unemployed factory towns. That the bathtub meth epidemic immediately followed the factory closures is not a coincidence, and the towns are now in the throes of an imported crystal method epidemic. At least the bathtub crank provided a few manufacturing jobs.
Most of the factories that moved south later went to Mexico with NAFTA, but they didn't stay there either, as soon as somewhere with fewer labor laws and lower labor costs came available they moved operations. Textiles left places like Honduras and Mexico and went to Bangladesh and Pakistan. Honduras faced a serious food crisis due to farmers flocking to work in sock factories, then when the factories closed no one had money to afford food imports and local farming wasn't able to meet the demand. Not to mention land damaged by the mills with no environmental regulations dumping chemical waste that damaged soil and waterways.The vehicle parts manufacturing that all went to Mexico, later went to South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, etc. The Pacific trade deal scrapped by Trump actually would have been a big deal due to provisions to impose fair labor regulations in member nations, and baseline environmental regulations.
If there was more domestic production of clean energy then hard hit areas like these could have manufacturing jobs that will benefit the people and economies in these areas. I know someone was talking about that in 2016 too bad all these yahoos wanted was racism, sexism and grievances and zero improvement of their lives and circumstances.
Both of my parents worked in textile mills in the middle of NC when I was a kid. When I remember these places now it feels like I am remembering the 19th century. Those factories were dirty and dangerous looking. They are all sad looking flea markets and antique malls now.
Jobs don't come to places like Appalachia (which my beloved Ozarks is culturally a part of) because good infrastructure has never been installed. Roads, rails and telecommunications are extremely expensive to install and maintain in mountainous geography, but good infrastructure would allow more people move into these sparsely-inhabited areas. If there was better infrastructure and a larger employee base, then we could talk about bringing jobs (clean or dirty, green or brown) into Appalachia.
Timber and vulture capitalism made a great pairing here in the ass-end of the PNW. For a few brief, shining moments, those shareholder profits were incredible. Sure, it kind of sucked for everyone else, especially afterwards, but what is important is the shareholders.
New Englander here. When the textile companies left here in the early 20th c. they left detritus in their wake, both property and human. Some of those towns are recovering only now, nearly 100 years later. Same with the later shoe and paper companies in both Maine and Massachusetts-those towns, esp. in Maine, are still struggling.
I'm reading Anne Proulx's historical novel ("Barkskins") about the North American timber industry, going all the way back into the late 1600s. It's certainly eye-opening.
In the 1960s I had 2 jobs offered in factories and could join a union.One was a printing plate factory. Type setting by hand, pouring molds, hand drawn art.The other was a cardboard box factory. All sizes.
I turned down the plate factory cause it looked something in 18th C England. Plus I heard they were trying to invent computers and robots.I turned down the box factory cause the air was so thick you could not see the other side of the factory. The lighting made everything look like dawn or dusk.
So I drove a truck in LA, and stayed in school. When the lottery came in for Viet Nam, I went into bidness.
1970s Sally Field can hold any sign she pleases.
NAFTA gets blamed for every industry that vacated but it mostly impacted machine parts manufacturing. The textile stuff was already moving to countries where it could exploit cheap labor spurred largely by the expansion of retailers like Walmart, Kmart, etc demanding lower and lower prices. The biggest impact of NAFTA was agricultural. It has been an overall boon to certain types of American farming and greatly expanded markets for Mexican and Canadian agricultural goods as well.Unfortunately, NAFTA hit traditionally unionized work hard, and expanded labor growth in traditionally seasonal work with exploitative labor practices.
They closed here in the 1990s. NAFTA might not have been to blame for all the factory closures, but it did nothing to help the suddenly-unemployed factory towns. That the bathtub meth epidemic immediately followed the factory closures is not a coincidence, and the towns are now in the throes of an imported crystal method epidemic. At least the bathtub crank provided a few manufacturing jobs.
I'm going to gather it all up and digitize some of it and look for a suitable place for it, a museum etc...
Most of the factories that moved south later went to Mexico with NAFTA, but they didn't stay there either, as soon as somewhere with fewer labor laws and lower labor costs came available they moved operations. Textiles left places like Honduras and Mexico and went to Bangladesh and Pakistan. Honduras faced a serious food crisis due to farmers flocking to work in sock factories, then when the factories closed no one had money to afford food imports and local farming wasn't able to meet the demand. Not to mention land damaged by the mills with no environmental regulations dumping chemical waste that damaged soil and waterways.The vehicle parts manufacturing that all went to Mexico, later went to South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, etc. The Pacific trade deal scrapped by Trump actually would have been a big deal due to provisions to impose fair labor regulations in member nations, and baseline environmental regulations.
If there was more domestic production of clean energy then hard hit areas like these could have manufacturing jobs that will benefit the people and economies in these areas. I know someone was talking about that in 2016 too bad all these yahoos wanted was racism, sexism and grievances and zero improvement of their lives and circumstances.
The fire left an impression. Women and girls mostly throwing themselves out of a window to escape death by raging inferno could do that.
Both of my parents worked in textile mills in the middle of NC when I was a kid. When I remember these places now it feels like I am remembering the 19th century. Those factories were dirty and dangerous looking. They are all sad looking flea markets and antique malls now.
Jobs don't come to places like Appalachia (which my beloved Ozarks is culturally a part of) because good infrastructure has never been installed. Roads, rails and telecommunications are extremely expensive to install and maintain in mountainous geography, but good infrastructure would allow more people move into these sparsely-inhabited areas. If there was better infrastructure and a larger employee base, then we could talk about bringing jobs (clean or dirty, green or brown) into Appalachia.
Great article, Erik, but I confess, I am disappointed at the distinct lack of Norma Rae in the content.https://media.newyorker.com...
Timber and vulture capitalism made a great pairing here in the ass-end of the PNW. For a few brief, shining moments, those shareholder profits were incredible. Sure, it kind of sucked for everyone else, especially afterwards, but what is important is the shareholders.
New Englander here. When the textile companies left here in the early 20th c. they left detritus in their wake, both property and human. Some of those towns are recovering only now, nearly 100 years later. Same with the later shoe and paper companies in both Maine and Massachusetts-those towns, esp. in Maine, are still struggling.
Because it not a union; it’s a mafia.
I'm reading Anne Proulx's historical novel ("Barkskins") about the North American timber industry, going all the way back into the late 1600s. It's certainly eye-opening.
In the 1960s I had 2 jobs offered in factories and could join a union.One was a printing plate factory. Type setting by hand, pouring molds, hand drawn art.The other was a cardboard box factory. All sizes.
I turned down the plate factory cause it looked something in 18th C England. Plus I heard they were trying to invent computers and robots.I turned down the box factory cause the air was so thick you could not see the other side of the factory. The lighting made everything look like dawn or dusk.
So I drove a truck in LA, and stayed in school. When the lottery came in for Viet Nam, I went into bidness.
Yep that is it.