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posted by martyb on Thursday July 27 2017, @08:26PM   Printer-friendly
from the exported-jobs dept.

The World Socialist Web Site reports

[July 20], 338 workers completed their final shifts at the Carrier gas furnace factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. They were the first wave of 640 workers who will lose their jobs by December 22 at the plant, which President Trump claimed he "saved" through negotiations with Carrier's parent company, United Technologies (UTC).

"People knew Trump was full of crap", 13-year Carrier veteran Taj Longino told the World Socialist Web Site. "But they hung on to the hope because most were too young to retire or too old to get another job. Where are they going to go now? They're stuck in limbo and uncertainty", Longino said.

The fan coil department is being shut down and moved to Mexico, the worker said. "Counting the maintenance department, press operators, forklift drivers, and production line workers, maybe there will be 600 workers left, out of way more than 1,000. The other Carrier plant in northern Indiana is gone."

[...] The fate of the Carrier workers was exploited by both Trump and then-Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders after UTC announced plans to shut the plant and move production to Monterrey, Mexico where workers are paid $3.90 an hour. Both sought to divert anger away from the corporations and their relentless drive for profit by blaming "unfair trade" and Mexican workers for the loss of jobs.

Just ahead of his inauguration, Trump triumphantly announced that a deal had been reached with UTC that would keep the Carrier plant in Indianapolis running and save 1,100 jobs. He and Vice President Pence--the former governor of Indiana--celebrated the deal with United Steelworkers representatives at the plant on December 1. The agreement promised UTC incentives from both the federal and state governments of up to $7 million in exchange for UTC's promise to employ at least 1,069 people at the Indianapolis plant for 10 years. Additionally, the company promised to invest $16 million in the facility.

The deal did not represent a victory, Pyrrhic or otherwise, for Carrier workers, though. Only 730 of the 1,069 jobs that UTC vowed to maintain are in manufacture. The remainder are engineering and technical positions, which had never been slated for outsourcing in the first place. Moreover, the $16 million in plant expenditures would not go towards increasing the workforce of the Indianapolis plant. Greg Hayes, UTC's CEO, stated publicly in December that the money had been earmarked for increasing automation at the plant, flatly stating that this would result in fewer workers over time.

According to an AP story in US News & World Report:

Carrier announced last year that it would close the Indianapolis plant and cut about 1,400 production jobs in a move expected to save $65 million annually.

Trump repeatedly criticized Carrier's Mexico outsourcing plan. Weeks after Trump won the election, Carrier announced an agreement to spare about 800 jobs in Indianapolis.

About 600 jobs are still being eliminated.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @10:03AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @10:03AM (#545695)

    We don't need any slackers.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @02:33PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @02:33PM (#545770)

    Looks as if socialist productivity is invitation-only.

    Welp, guess it's back to capitalism, boys.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @09:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 28 2017, @09:45PM (#545991)

      You give up way too easily.
      You -may- make an effective Socialist one day (though I doubt it).
      In order to do that, you're going to have to get off your ass.
      Start by becoming more informed and less stupid.

      Now, you could start your own co-op.

      N.B. I'm guessing that, with your attitude of gimme-gimme-gimme, you will have problems finding people who want to associate with you.
      It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case among your current co-workers.

      You could look for -other- existing co-ops.
      Cleveland, Rochester, and Jackson, Mississippi are active crucibles.
      Milwaukee has a long history of Socialism.
      ...and the popularity of co-ops is spreading.

      ...but, again, the gimme-gimme-gimme attitude you exhibit is going to be a big hindrance for you.

      it's back to capitalism, boys

      It appears that you have a low level of social skills and zero leadership ability.
      I doubt anyone listens to anything you say.

      ...but, for those folks who want to be exploited employees, working to make someone else rich, then working for a Capitalist operation is the way to do that.

      -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]