Today, I passed in front of Martin Mills, located in St. Martinville, Louisiana. Martin Mills was home to one of Fruit of the Loom's largest plants (1,000,000 indoor square footage), employing 3,500 people during their peak in 1997. It is located in an area known as Industrial Park, but this park is now a ghost-town. Today, the company's abandoned plant is a reminder of the lost manufacturing jobs across Louisiana and the rest of the country.
Many St. Martinville residents, blame the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for sweeping away jobs at Martin Mills, two years ago, to buy cheaper labor overseas. More than 6,000 workers were cut during the 1990s as the company also shut plants in Port Barre and Abbeville and eliminated jobs at its only remaining Louisiana facility in Jeanerette.
Now that Fruit of the Loom has done their part to our country, I am doing my part by refusing to purchase any FTL products. I would also encourage others to do the same.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment