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Madd Max 
Group: Members
Posts: 1345
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 19 2003,4:03 pm |
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I read on the Tribune web site that Con-Agra is closing there plant in Wells Minn. With another 230 job to leave the area What are your (The readers of this Forum ) Feeling about another meat packer packing up and leaving the areas. Also what are your felling about the People that are going to lose there Jobs and Health Insurance?
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Heck, if crazy were a pre-existing condition, the GOP wouldn't be able to get insurance. James Carville
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LisaMarie
Group: Members
Posts: 367
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 19 2003,4:24 pm |
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I think it's totally horrible. They say they're moving the plant to cut costs, but what they really mean is they can hire illegal immigrants for sweatshop wages.
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Bush & Son - Sending America to war since 1990
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MADDOG
Group: Moderator
Posts: 7821
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 19 2003,4:27 pm |
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Max, it's a doggone shame. Many of those people will have nowhere else to go. Granted, the pay was not great, but for Wells, it may have been alright. I believe that they just did packaging there. They employed what would equal 10% of the population, that's an awful big hit to that little community. Like the paper said, I don't think if the JOBZ was going, it could of helped them out. This is just a perfect example of the high corporate taxes and worker's compensation programs this state has. JOBZ is going to do very little to attract companies to these border counties.
One thing in the paper I noticed was a comment in the editorials that I was surprised Belden printed. It may be true, but it was unethical to print.
Tribune:| Quote | It's possible that the JOBZ zones wouldn't have made a difference. After all, Texas has a powerful magnet for these kinds of jobs: A large pool of cheap labor. No tax-free zone can bring Minnesota geographically closer to Mexico.
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Belden's insinuating the plant was mostly employed by?"illegal"? Mexicans?
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Actually my wife is especially happy when my google check arrives each month. Thanks to douchbags like you, I get paid just for getting you worked up. -Liberal
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jimhanson
Group: Moderator
Posts: 8491
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 19 2003,5:28 pm |
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It's lamentable, but predictable. Low tax states have been "stealing" industry from high tax states for decades--check KSTP radio in St. Paul--the Sioux Falls chamber of Commerce runs ads there daily--"Minnesota may be a good place to START a business, but if you want your business to GROW, come to Sioux Falls. Low corporate and personal income taxes. Let us show you how your business can save up to $1 Million dollars a year".
We can make the "quality of life" argument all we want, but the reality is that argument was settled decades ago. Did King Seely move to North Carolina for a new courthouse, new school, or quality of life? NO, THEY MOVED FOR LOWER TAXES.
We do some flying for Red Wing Shoe. They built two new plants, in Kentucky and Missouri. Did they move their production from Mn. for the new courthouse, new school, or quality of life? (Hardly, the new plant is right next to DEATH ROW at the prison!  ) No, IT WAS FOR THE LOW TAXES.
Marvin Windows has built 3 new plants, all out of State--in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Dakota. Was it because of the new courthouse, new school, or quality of life? No, IT WAS BECAUSE OF LOW TAXES.
That icon of Minnesota--MINNESOTA Mining and Manufacturing, built its new plant in Texas--you know why, by now.
Larson Manufacturing, starting right in AL, moved to Lake Mills for their manufacturing plant, and their headquarters to South Dakota. Do you suppose the quality of life is lower 20 miles south?
I'm not being critical of Albert Lea--we have much in common with other border cities and counties--for the most part, we didn't create this unfavorable business climate. Cities in Outstate Minnesota constantly speak of "luring" a major employer to their community. Can you name any outstate city in Minnesota that has succeeded in "luring" a major employer (I'd define major employer as 300 jobs at the outset, but that is subject to definition--it may be 200, or 100--but the answer is the same). I CAN'T THINK OF ONE!
There is a lesson and a message here for our legislators--we have a problem here in the border counties. The JOBZ is a good first start--but to make us competitive, let us be governed by the same rules as the states we border, AND WE WILL BE COMPETITIVE!
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"If you want to anger a Conservative, tell him a lie. If you want to anger a LIBERAL, tell him the TRUTH!"
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Bubba
Group: Members
Posts: 94
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 19 2003,6:37 pm |
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I haven't been in the Well's plant for quite some time. As far as packing plants go, it was very small. I'm sure that a great deal of improvements have been made since I was last there in the mid 80's, but the plant was land locked with few options for expansion. At that time the plant suffered from poor management. Small plants are hard to attract good managers too. When a plant this size gets a good manager, they are gone before anyone knows what happened. Small plants have great trouble generating enough revenue to carry the overhead, and continually find themselves stuck in cycles of bad management and turn around situations. It too bad for the employees who have worked very hard. I hope that a smaller operator can be found for the plant. I'm sure the plant has some years left in it and the workforce would give it their all to see someone succeed. As far as ConAgra changing its mind, I wouldn't hold my breath for that to happen.
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Ole1kanobe
Group: Members
Posts: 1360
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 19 2003,10:48 pm |
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Amen Bubba, look at what has happened to CPS (now APS I think) across from the SPAM museum in Austin. They had a lot of good employees and even some good management, but they axed the decent management that actually worked with the production employees and drove the place into the ground with a little help from personal embezzlement.
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The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
-Albert Einstein-
Some of what is said here (myself included) is about as tolerable as listening to someone vacuum a cat.
-nphilbro-
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