We are at the NAM Manufacturing Summit and will soon begin our visits to legislators “On The Hill.” Our first meetings today are with Senators Gillibrand and Schumer. Tomorrow we meet with Congressman Gibson and Congresswoman Hayworth.
The message we are delivering is to give manufacturing the tools and resources it needs to grow, and that a growing American manufacturing sector can lead an economic resurgence across the national and even the world economy.
The 3 points of emphasis here are:
Tax Policy, including the R&D tax credit, and reform of both the corporate and individual tax systems.
Workforce development to reduce the skills gap.
Energy policy reform to make energy cheap and available.
That title phrase is the the sub head of an article in The Economist on materials innovation and development that appeared in a special report on manufacturing in April. The article discusses the revolution in materials science, driven by manufacturing, that is changing multiple industries. The phrase itself refers to the process that is driving innovation at a particular Rolls Royce plant in Derby.
“The new factory in Derby, where Rolls-Royce makes the turbine blades, is also somewhat unusual. Designers, engineers and production staff are housed under one roof rather than in different buildings or even different countries. They were brought together because Rolls-Royce believes that proximity will lead to a better understanding of each other’s roles and greater inventiveness. That will be crucial in the years to come, says Hamid Mughal, Rolls-Royce’s head of manufacturing engineering: “Product technology is the key to survival, and manufacturing excellence provides one of the biggest opportunities in the future.” That combination, Mr Mughal believes, is the only way to keep coming up with breakthroughs: “Incremental increases won’t do it.”
We know that the future of manufacturing in our region lies with innovation. Hudson Valley manufacturers would do well to learn more about how some of the most successful innovators are changing their corporate cultures to maximize creativity and innovation.
For more than a year members of the Orange County (NY) Industrial Development Agency Board of Directors have been researching ways to support Orange County Small and Medium sized manufacturers in their efforts to find skilled workers. The IDA recognizes the importance of manufacturing to the economy of the county and are trying to support it where they can.
Since first learning that a gap exists between what area manufacturers need and what the current workforce possess as well as what the areas schools can provide, the IDA has been looking at best practices across the nation with an eye toward implementing them here in the Hudson Valley. That has led to the possibility that SUNY Orange will begin a certificate training program for advanced manufacturing focuses on training machinists. Overtime the program may be expanded to also include an Associates Degree.
To ensure that the program is needed and that it includes what area manufactures need, the SUNY Orange will be hosting a series of focus groups on the topic in late June. the Council of Industry has been involved in this process all along, and many of our members will be invited to participate in the focus groups (including many outside of Orange County) the groups will be held in four sessions scheduled for June 20-21, and 27-28 at the college’s Newburgh campus and at the Orange County Business Accelerator in New Windsor.
The New York Federal Reserve Bank’s April Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that manufacturing activity in New York State improved modestly. Although the general business conditions index fell fourteen points, it remained positive at 6.6. Some Other Findings:
The new orders and shipments indexes also remained positive, but showed only a small increase in orders and shipments.
The prices paid index inched downward but remained high, and the prices received index climbed six points to 19.3.
The index for number of employees rose to its highest level in nearly a year, indicating a significant increase in employment levels, while the average workweek index fell to a level that indicated only a small increase in hours worked.
Future indexes remained quite positive, suggesting a strong and persistent degree of optimism about the six-month outlook.
In a series of supplementary survey questions—previously posed in August 2011 and March 2007—respondents were asked how much difficulty they had experienced finding workers proficient in mathematical, computer, interpersonal, and other workplace skills. Interestingly, respondents reported at least as much difficulty finding workers with each of these skills than they did prior to the recession, in March 2007.
To our mind there are 2 main areas of workforce development, basic and custom. By basic we mean the fundamental skills to succeed in any work setting, functional math, simple teamwork, proficient reading and writing. This area would seem to us to be the purview of the educational system and for those not intending to, or capable of, heading on to post secondary education it would also include a vocational skill or trade.
Essentially this means everyone who graduates from high school would be prepared for entry level work.
Customized workforce development elevates the skills of these workers, and college educated workers, to meet the needs of their employers, enabling them to compete in the global marketplace. In some cases the training is relatively generic and can be applied across businesses and sectors (strategic management for example) In other cases the training is very specific to a single company. Training on a particular milling machine or with a custom software program for example.
Government funded training programs too often fail to meet the needs of individual companies because they lack flexibility and because they are expensive to administer. In some cases as many as 4 different administrative fees can be charged to every training award meaning that as little as 30 cents of every training dollar actually get to the worker being training.
When Washington hears that there is a training need, their solution too often is to create a new program, rather than make an existing program more flexible, or easier to access. The Wall Street Journal editorializes about this today.
“Of the five programs studied, the positive effect “tended to be small, inconclusive, or restricted to short-term impacts.” A 2011 Department of Labor study found that the benefits of job training under one of the most extensive efforts, the 1998 Workforce Investment Act, “were small or nonexistent.” GAO reports in the 1990s, in 2000 and in 2003 had similar conclusions, finding that multiple programs duplicated efforts, ran up costs and produced few benefits. The reports did little to stem mission creep.”
Perhaps we are biased, but it seems to us that the best way to maximize return on training dollars invested is to keep the dollars as close as possible to the companies needing them.
Manufacturing was a bright spot, as the larger macroeconomic figures reflect slower labor productivity growth. In the nonfarm business sector, output per hour for all workers fell 0.5 percent. The decline was due to growth in the number of hours worked (up 3.2 percent) outpacing the growth in output (up 2.7 percent). Nonfarm unit labor costs rose 2 percent.
Manufacturing output grew 4.8 percent in 2011, with first quarter figures up dramatically. This will allow manufacturers to bring on more workers as the year progresses. Nonfarm job creation should also be positive from this analysis, with hiring helping to keep hours worked and output more in alignment.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today established the New NY Education Reform Commission, bringing together nationally-recognized education, community, and business leaders to recommend reforms to the state’s education system in order to improve performance in the classroom so that all of New York’s students are fully prepared for their futures.
The Commission will examine the current structure of the state’s education system including teacher recruitment and performance, student achievement, education funding and costs, parent and family engagement, problems facing high-need districts, and the best use of technology in the classroom. The Commission will also analyze the organization of school districts to ensure they are structured to meet the needs of New York’s students while also respecting the taxpayer.
Reform of New York’s bloated, antiquated system of public education is long overdue, but with so much as stake and so many entrenched stakeholders – we are skeptical that any meaningful reform can take place through a “Commission”.
At least its a start.
Post: Apr. 26, 2012
This week The Economist writes of a “Third Industrial Revolution” arguing the the latest “digital” Industrial Revolution allows for greater customization and flexibility and may eventually lead to a return to more of the cottage based industries that were replaced by the first industrial revolution in the late 18th century.
While there has been lot’s of news about “re-shoring” manufacturing to the United States from China we should all be aware that, while this is a welcome phenomenon,the trend is still outbound.
Check out these headlines today…..
Volvo To More Than Double Vehicle Models In China.
Bloomberg News (4/21, News) reported Volvo “said it plans to more than double its number of models to compete with Volkswagen AG (VOW)’s Audi and BMW AG in the world’s largest automobile market.” Volvo, which is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., and “currently sells 6 models in China, is planning to introduce 10 new ones in the country within six years, including ‘bigger and more luxury high end’ vehicles, as well as medium- to small-sized cars such as the V40 hatchback,” the automaker said.
Nissan To Manufacture Two Infiniti Models In China. BBC News (4/20) reported, “Nissan Motors has said it will start manufacturing two models of its luxury brand Infiniti in China in an attempt to tap into the fast-growing market.”
Volkswagen To Build New Factory In China. AFP (4/23) reports Volkswagen “will build a new plant in Xinjiang, a province in China’s undeveloped far west, a company official said” yesterday. Marketing and distribution chief Christian Klingler said in Beijing on the eve of a major auto show in the Chinese capital, “The new plant is only part of our ‘go west’ strategy.'”
China Auto Industry Faces Rising Inventory. Bloomberg News (4/22) reported, Volkswagen “said China’s slowing automobile industry is facing rising inventory levels.” The country’s “auto market had inventory of about 2.3 months during the first quarter, compared with 2 months a year earlier, Soh Weiming, executive vice president at Volkswagen China, said in Beijing today. Stockpiles may rise to 2.6 months by the middle of the year, he said.”
High oil and gasoline prices are driving businesses and consumers alike toward more energy efficient products. Three news stories today clearly illustrate this trend.
The Washington Times reports that sales of Electric Vehicles reached a monthly high in March. “Consumers bought a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars in March, up from 34,000 during the same month last year. The two categories combined made up 3.64 percent of total U.S. sales, their highest monthly market share ever…”
Staying with the automotive theme, under the headline, “How Hyundai Went From Joke To Contender In US,” the AP reports Hyundai “…is among the leaders in fuel efficiency and styling. Sales are up more than 60 percent since 2008, the year John Krafcik became CEO of American operations. Hyundai’s Elantra compacts and Sonata midsize sedans are in such demand that few discounts are offered.”
Finally, USA Today reports that Boeing is updating the “Industry workhorse” 737 to become more fuel efficient. ”…the Boeing 737 Max will “offer efficiency that’s helped make the 737 the best-selling commercial jet in history.”
The old saying goes “necessity is the mother of invention.” Today we might say “4 dollar gas necessitates innovation.”
The Council of Industry, the manufacturer’s association of the Hudson Valley, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2012 Manufacturing Champions Award. This honor is bestowed on individuals from both the public and private sector and an organization who through vision, dedication, hard work and tireless involvement have helped to overcome some of the many obstacles faced by manufacturers in the Hudson Valley community and in so doing they have made it possible for manufacturers and their employees to prosper.
This year’s Champions from the private sector, Richard and Carol Parker, are the founder and president of Fair Rite Products Corporation. Richard Parker, a pioneer of the early efforts to use ferrites for EMI energy attenuation, founded Fair Rite Products Corporation in Ulster County in 1952. Under Richard and his wife (and Fair Rite CEO) Carol’s leadership Fair Rite Products has grown into a multinational business. Today, still based in Ulster County, Fair Rite Products is one of the world’s leaders in development, innovation and manufacture of soft ferrite products, offering a comprehensive product line that includes a wide range of materials and geometries for EMI suppression, power applications and RFID antennas.
The public sector Champion is Orange County Executive Ed Diana. Serving as county Executive since 2001 Ed Diana believes that commercial investment is key to affordable taxes, good paying jobs, and quality communities. He has taken personal interest in numerous economic development activities affecting manufacturers including negotiating the Port Authority takeover of the management of Stewart Airport, the formation of the Orange County Business Accelerator, and the retention of major manufacturing employers Kolmar Labs and Satin Fine foods.
The Champion for an organization supporting Hudson Valley Manufacturing goes to the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, the one-stop shop for companies considering relocating or expanding in the Hudson Valley region. HVEDC’s recent focus on developing industry clusters including semi-conductor, food and beverage, bio-Technology and Medical Devices has proven very beneficial to all Hudson Valley manufacturers. In developing the services infrastructure these clusters need to succeed, all manufactures have benefited, not just those that are part of individual clusters.
There will be a Manufacturing Champions Award Breakfast honoring the recipients on Friday May 18th, from 7:30- 9:30 am at the Powelton Club in Newburgh, NY. Sponsorship opportunities are available and make this event possible. Thanks to our supporting sponsors: The Chazen Companies, Mid-Hudson Workshop for the Disabled, and The Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation. Major and supporting sponsorships are still available, to become a sponsor or to reserve your seat at the event go to www.www.councilofindustry.org or call the Council of Industry office (845) 565-1355.
First the good news regarding the March Jobs Report, The manufacturing sector added 37,000 jobs in March, and manufacturing, as we all know, is a bell weather of the overall economy so this positive number bodes well for the future.
Now the bad news – everything else in the report is disappointing to say the least. For me the most discouraging number was the precipitous decline in the workforce. Fewer people looking for work is not a sign of growth, and growth is what our economy needs. Ironically this reduction in the overall labor force is the reason the unemployment rate declined from 8.3 to 8.2 percent.
The gain in Manufacturing employment of 37,000 in March is the second-strongest gain in the last 12 months, and continues the manufacturing jobs gain that began in January 2010. Since that time, manufacturing has gained 470,000 jobs – and has seen employment grow 10 percent faster than in the rest of the private sector.
Durable goods employment continued its strong growth pattern, gaining 26 thousand jobs in March. Reflecting resurgent motor vehicle production in the United States, the March employment gain in that sector accounted for nearly half of the entire durable goods employment increase. Non-durable goods employment rose 11,000.
The strong growth in manufacturing that has been going on since January 2010 is clearly visible in the attached graphs, as is the robust performance of the durable goods sector and the lackluster record in non-durables employment.
In order to have robust growth across both the durable goods and non-durable goods sector we need pro-manufacturing policies from Washington that will enable growth.
“Innovation — not manufacturing —has always propelled this country’s progress. A strategy to reward manufacturers who increase their payroll in the United States may not be as effective as one to support the firms whose creations — whether physical stuff or immaterial services — can conquer world markets and pay for the jobs of the rest of us.”
That is the gist of the story in the New York Times yesterday on the changing nature of manufacturing and how best to harness it as an economic engine. What is most interesting is this simple, but very important point: “It may not matter to factory workers who lost their jobs. Whether forced out because an employer moved production to China or because a fancy new machine makes it easier to compete against a rival in China, the job is gone.
Still, the distinction is important. Without an understanding of the forces at work, policy makers’ attempts to bolster manufacturing could backfire.”
Well said – and too often policy makers act without truly understanding the problem.
By Ned Monroe, NAM, senior vice president, external affairs
This January not only marked the start of a new business year; it also kicked off a critical presidential election year. Candidates are flooding the airwaves and social media sites with their plans to improve the economy and support manufacturers in America. Whether running for the White House or the court house, candidates are discussing manufacturing and how our sector of the economy is a solid solution for job creation. With this timely focus on manufacturing, it is critical that we take action on our commonsense solutions to create jobs. We can all collectively participate in this important election season.
As member companies of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) work toward a successful business year, employee participation in the election is a top priority. Now is the time to mark important election dates on the company calendar and to update your internal employee voter education plan. The New York State Primary will be held on April 24th.
According to a study conducted by the Business Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC), workers overwhelmingly look to their employers as a credible source of information on elections and political issues affecting businesses. Use this valuable opportunity to encourage your employees to support manufacturing by participating in the elections. Your team members want and appreciate your insights.
To help you communicate with your team, the NAM offers an online Election Center as a useful resource for your company in the upcoming year. It’s a one-stop shop that provides employers and employees with all the tools needed for the upcoming 2012 cycle. For more information, please visit www.namelectioncenter.org.
As you craft a get-out-the-vote strategy for your business, focus on providing basic, non-partisan tools our employees will be able to use to make informed decisions on November 6. An effective plan should include voter registration and polling location information as well as reminders about upcoming deadlines and election dates. You might also offer printed copies of the candidates’ positions on key issues. All this information can be easily accessed on the NAM’s Election Center.
Show strong support for employee involvement in the 2012 election. Lead by example. Encourage voter participation frequently in internal communications. It is appropriate to send non-partisan reminder e-mails and to mention the election in an employee newsletter on your company’s internal website or at monthly staff meetings. Consider sponsoring a voter registration drive at your company. Many places of business offer their employees a flexible work schedule on election days so they have the time to vote. All of these actions show that you, as an employer, support and encourage active participation in the voting process.
As candidates hit the campaign trail, we strongly recommend inviting elected officials and candidates to your company facilities for plant tours or “meet and greet” events with your employees. At these events, feel free to discuss issues, their potential impact on your business and the candidates’ positions and records on policies. If you decide to host candidates at your company, contact the Council of Industry, we can walk you through specific procedures and legal requirements for conducting such meetings.
The Council of Industry and the NAM team is ready and willing to help your company develop and implement a successful employee election plan for 2012. Together, we can collectively show both employees and candidates that Manufacturing Means Jobs!
Please visit the Council of Industry’s Manufacturing is Vital page http://www.councilofindustry.net/vital.html for our link to the NAM election center to get started today.
Senator Kirsten GillibrandSenator Kirsten Gillibrand cited the Manufacturing Institute’s Survey in making the case for her support of legislation intended to improve the nation’s manufacturing training infrastructure.
Gillibrand referred to the 2011 survey by the Manufacturing Institute and said that “more than 600,000 manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to a shortage of skilled workers. Two-thirds of small business leaders and more than half of all business leaders struggle with recruiting employees with the right education and training.” She noted this was particularly true for what she described as “middle-skill” jobs that require training at a level somewhere between a high school diploma and a four-year college degree.
She continued, “By 2018, 21 of the 30 fastest-growing jobs will require a postsecondary certificate or degree. These jobs make up nearly half of America’s labor market, and nearly half of all of the openings over the next decade for highly compensated jobs.” Gillibrand on WAMC
A NAM/Industry Week Survey of manufacturers shows that many firms are predicting higher sales and employment in 2012, but that the rising costs of energy and raw materials are cause for concern.
Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers, wrote in the last NAM/IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers released in December, “the percentage of manufacturers who were either somewhat or very positive about their business outlook jumped to 80%, up from 65% in the September survey.” Moutray wrote, “The outlook for growth this year improved with the revival in optimism at the end of last year. I am currently predicting 2.6% growth in real GDP in 2012, which is in line with other estimates.”
Moutray is also the author of the very popular “Monday Manufacturing Economic Report the Council of Industry circulates to its members each week.
The Council of Industry as a member of the Manufacturers Alliance spent two days this month meeting with state lawmakers on issues of importance to our members. Harold King moderated a panel discussion with Assembly and Senate members. For a brief video clip from that session or to watch Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos speaking to the group, go to our channel at Vimeo.com,
NBC Nightly News (3/8, story 4, 2:05, Williams) reported, “Even with so many Americans still unemployed, some companies, manufacturers in particular, are having trouble finding workers.” NBC (LeBeau) added, “Over the last two years American manufacturers have hired more than 400,000 workers. At the same time the number of manufacturing jobs unfilled has more than doubled to 264,000” due to “a lack of applicants with the skills or education to run or build machines that are more complex.”
The fact that manufacturing is vital to the growth of the economy in New York, and to the corollary of improving the state government’s financial situation, seems to have sunk in to the legislators and administration officials who attended and participated in the Manufacturing Alliance of New York States annual Manufacturing Days March 5 and 6 in Albany. What should, and more importantly can, be done to help became the topic of discussion during the event.
Taxes (corporate franchise, energy, highway use) regulations (DOT,DEC, DOL) and other costs of doing business (energy workers’ compensation) remain the greatest impediment to the growth of the manufacturing sector in New York. Legislators participating on our panel discussion felt that the tide was turning on these issues. All believe Governor Cuomo is setting the right tone and moving the bureaucracy in the right direction on these issues.
Rising near the top of issues of concern to NYS manufacturers this year was the Skills gap. An aging workforce, fewer and fewer students pursuing careers in the sector, a secondary educational system tilted toward preparing students for college, and population under the misconception that manufacturing is fading in this country have all led to a dramatic shortage of skilled workers.Throughout the event in Albany manufacturing CEOs one after the other told of orders and growth foregone over the lack of workers to produce the goods.
Lawmakers are especially sympathetic to this issue.
The nationwide shortage of skilled workers is finally receiving some attention in the national media and it’s being talked about at times on the campaign trail by incumbents and candidates running for State Representative and Congress. Here in the Hudson Valley Council of Industry training programs are filled, and that’s a positive development but much more is needed. Recently two Hudson Valley manufacturers received positive media coverage locally and on CSpan as this issue was discussed. Larry Fryer, President of Fryer Machine Systems in Patterson, with children in High School, says public schools are doing nothing to expose young people to career paths in manufacturing. The Council of Industry posted video from his meeting with Congresswoman Nan Hayworth on our Facebook Page. Here is the link to the video http://vimeo.com/channels/298363
Later in the week Hayworth told members of the Senate – House Conference Committee on extending the tax credit about her meeting at Fryer. Also on the tour of Fryer Machine Systems was Orange County Deputy County Executive James O’Donnell. The Orange County Industrial Development Agency and SUNY Orange in Middletown and Newburgh are moving as quickly as possible to establish new training programs to support manufacturing. So they wanted to learn directly what manufacturing employers needs are. Their goal is to start a new training program as the Fall Semester gets underway in late August.
A week earlier, the Council of Industry referred the local news team at Cablevision News in Dutchess County to Schatz Bearing in Poughkeepsie. The focus of the news story they broadcast was job creation in local manufacturing. Schatz President Stephen Pomeroy spoke about the hiring his firm did in December, and also how Schatz improves worker skills by taking advantage of available worker training programs, including the Council’s, and also programs run by nearby Dutchess Community College.
The NAM Manufacturing Institute has developed a “stackable” skills program that will make it much more attractive for people, particularly young people, to get into the field of manufacturing.
The program ends the false choice that young people must choose between a trade or college by providing a path to skill certificate – associates degree – bachelors degree – graduate degree. Individuals can continue on the path, or hop off and back on at anytime for the skills they need to be successful in a modern manufacturing career.
The first focus has been on the core or basic skills that cut across all sectors in manufacturing.
These core or basic skills are:
Personal Effectiveness Skills
Basic Academic Requirements
General Workplace Competencies
Industry-wide Technical Competencies
The Manufacturing Institute worked with key certification partners who are the world market leaders in skills certification programs that align with these four tiers of skill requirements. This collaborative effort resulted in an organization of the certification programs, and the credentials they offer, into a system of “stackable credentials” that can be awarded in post-secondary education.
The result is a professional technical manufacturing workforce with valuable industry credentials, making companies more innovative, more competitive, and more marketable.
Find out more here: http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/Education-Workforce/Skills-Certification-System/About/About.aspx
The NAM Press Release on the State of the Union and the Administration’s discussion of manufacturing is dead on.
Here is a sample:
“The Obama Administration must take action to put an end to the rampant overregulation and overreach by the National Labor Relations Board and the Environmental Protection Agency. We need action on comprehensive tax reform that will lower the corporate tax rate so that we can compete for investment across the globe. Tax reform must also lower the rates of the 65 percent of manufacturers that file as individuals for the good of the economy and jobs. An aggressive trade policy that opens new markets is essential so America does not stand idle while other nations move into those markets. As consumers of one-third of our nation’s energy supply, manufacturers embrace a true ‘all-of-the-above’ energy policy – not one subject to the political winds.”
Here is the Link:
http://www.nam.org/Communications/Articles/2012/01/Manufacturers-State-of-the-Union-Needs-Action-Behind-It.aspx
Manufacturing in the New York region expanded in January at the fastest pace in nine months, reflecting improving orders, sales and employment.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index rose to 13.5, the highest level since April, from a revised 8.2 in December.
On a series of supplementary survey questions, 51 percent of respondents indicated that they expect their workforces to increase over the next six to twelve months, while just 9 percent predicted declines in the total number of workers—results noticeably more positive than in the June 2011 survey. The current results were slightly more positive for larger establishments (150 or more employees) than for smaller ones. High expected sales growth was widely deemed to be the most important factor among those who planned to add workers. When asked about anticipated changes in wages per worker, 80 percent of respondents indicated that wages would increase by less than 5 percent and almost all of the remaining 20 percent said wages would stay about the same. When asked about changes in benefits per worker, however, a sizable proportion, 37 percent, estimated that increases would exceed 5 percent.
Manufacturing employment in this country is expanding. In fact, the labor department says that in 2011, more manufacturing jobs were added than in any year since the 1990s. Still, manufacturing employment is not what it was, as will be apparent, when we look more closely in the coming days, at South Carolina, a manufacturing state which is holding its presidential primary later this month.
South Carolina’s unemployment rate is 9.9 percent – considerably higher than the national average. You can see a transformation in South Carolina in old factory towns. New plants have sprung up, but workers there will tell you they’re a world apart from the old ones. As part of a story co-reported with the Atlantic Magazine, Adam Davidson of NPR’s Planet Money team visited Greenville, South Carolina, to see the transformation of manufacturing up close.
ADAM DAVIDSON, BYLINE: Greenville County, South Carolina is where manufacturing’s past and future live side-by-side. I don’t mean that in some metaphorical way. I mean, it is a visible fact. There are abandoned textile mills everywhere you look.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Unintelligible)
DAVIDSON: I’m riding around in a squad car with Deputy Sheriff Mike East and his boss, Sheriff Scott Wilson, who took me on a tour of Greenville’s past.
There are so many mills. They’re hiding behind other mills.
SHERIFF SCOTT WILSON: There’s a mill behind every blade of grass.
DAVIDSON: Ten to fifteen years ago, life in Greenville was organized around these mills. Each mill had its own village, its own church, its own bar. These places were abandoned over the last decade or so as mill after mill went out of business. What’s left are deeply depressed near ghost-towns. But sometimes, amid the stretches of shuttered buildings, you can find a living relic.
WILSON: Now, here’s a lively redneck bar, Christine’s Place.
DAVIDSON: Christine’s sign reads, Come to the holler for a cold swaller(ph). You could also come to Christine’s for a fist-fight or if you wanted to be shot at. Sherriff Wilson had an unsettling number of fight stories from Christine’s. When the cops left, I decided I had to go inside, but I was really scared.
But instantly when I walked in I felt like a fool for being scared. Those fight stories are all very old. The room now is empty, except there are a few white-haired regulars nursing drinks at the bar. They told me about the old Greenville, when the economy was booming. Christine’s was packed morning, noon, and night, before and after every one of the three shifts at the nearby mill. Trucks would speed in and out of the factory gates nearby.
TERRY LEE SUTTLES: You made more money. You could just make money. And it was good money.
DAVIDSON: That’s Terry Lee Suttles, the bar’s owner.
SUTTLES: Everybody knowed somebody that worked in the mill, and usually they was hiring. And if you had a friend, you could always get in, you know. I wasn’t really old enough to work, but I went to work.
DAVIDSON: Like 16 or younger?
SUTTLES: Oh, I was about 16.
DAVIDSON: Did you drop out of high school?
SUTTLES: Yes.
DAVIDSON: Which everyone did around here, right?
SUTTLES: Yeah.
DAVIDSON: And this is the key fact. This is what made life in the old Greenville so rewarding. People with minimal education could work in a factory and support a lifestyle that their grandparents could only dream of. And the people here – they knew it.
WAYNE STATEN: We’ve had a good life.
LARRY HALE: We’ve had a fantasy life.
STATEN: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
DAVIDSON: A fantasy life?
Wayne Staten and Larry Hale worked in the old Greenville. They drove trucks that took the mill products all over the continent.
HALE: Yeah we’ve done things that a lot of people dream of doing, that never ever have a chance of doing.
DAVIDSON: Like what?
HALE: Like when I went to Canada and I started dating this hairstylist up in Canada, wanted to marry me. And down in Mexico, the things I done. And when I lived in Houston, Texas. We lived a fantasy life. We lived our lives to the fullest. You got to cherish everything that’s out in front of you. You got to grasp it and love it; and if you don’t, you’re losing out. Love everything.
STATEN: Well, I wouldn’t say everything, Larry.
HALE: Yeah. OK. I agree with you there.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
DAVIDSON: Compare this fantasy life to the present. There are still factories in Greenville – they’re open and working, and they employ people, although now you have to have a high school degree, usually, to get a job. And as I found out, the workers now feel a lot less certain about their job prospects. For example, I visited the factory floor of Standard Motor Products.
(SOUNDBITE OF MACHINERY)
DAVIDSON: They make replacement parts for car engines. I thought this would involve big, noisy machines stamping out parts and spewing oil. Instead, I saw very nice, high tech machines and not that many workers who were hunched over microscopes or working on computer programmed machinery. It looked more like a science lab than an assembly line.
Madeline “Maddie” Parlier operates one of the machines on the floor. She doesn’t have a college degree, and she doesn’t need one to operate this machine. It runs with a push of a button. But she remembers a time when factory work wasn’t quite so automated. In her old job at a kayak-building factory, she used to work up a sweat.
MADELINE PARLIER: You know, I’m here all day and I’m used to sweatin,’ I mean really sweatin’. You know, I come here and I’m putting pieces and I’m like, what am I doing?
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
DAVIDSON: ‘Cause it’s so many machines doing what people…
PARLIER: Right, it’s so different. To see how far factories have come from the old time that I’m used to, it’s an eye-opener.
DAVIDSON: Machines do so much more of the work in today’s factory. And the machines have bred a new kind of factory worker, workers like Ralph Young, who doesn’t just have to push a button.
RALPH YOUNG: And we have a microscope, a hot stand, snap gauges, ID gauges, we use bore mites, go-no-go plugs…
DAVIDSON: Ralph is the future of manufacturing. He’s acquired the knowledge and skills to adapt to the new technology on the factory floor. But for Maddie and many millions of others, the pace of change has been bewildering. She is still adjusting, and she will have to keep adjusting as the machines grow more sophisticated and the work less physical. The question is, can Maddie, and the 11 million or so other manufacturing workers in the U.S. keep up?
Tomorrow, when our series continues, we’ll look at the changing skills of the modern-day factory worker, and how they affect the job prospects of workers like Maddie.
Adam Davidson, NPR News.
INSKEEP: You can find the magazine version of Adam’s story on news stands or at the Atlantic.com/magazine.
The Media is finally starting to understand not only the important role manufacturing plays in our economy, but also its high tech, high skill nature. In this article from NPR’s Morning Edition, Correspondent Adam Davidson visits Greenville South Carolina to discuss manufacturing’s past and future. Mr. Davidson was a guest at a Council of Industry Directors meeting in November of 2010 where we discussed this very thing. For manfuacturing to grow and lead our nation into economic prosperity we need to change the public perception of the sector from “Dumb, Dirty, Dangerous and Disappearing” to “Smart, Sustainable,Safe and Surging.”
