Thursday, April 15, 2010

SOMETHING FISHY.................OR NOT

   I hate seeing any plant closing..... heck, I grew up in the 'leather city' where you did not have to be a college graduate to make a good living and support your family and the community.  Many jobs are gone now and factories closed, some because of stringent federal restrictions and regulations.  Years ago you could make a living using the earth's resources which some as seeing today as global abuse.  I still say not everyone can work for the government nor can this country afford it.



Maine was once a frenetic hub of the sardine business, starting in the 1870s. The industry reached its peak in the early 1950s, when it employed thousands of workers at more than 50 canneries.
This plant, identifiable by its giant slicker-clad seafarer holding a tin of Beach Cliff sardines, is by far the biggest employer in this pocket of peninsulas more than halfway up the coastline. When its doors close, 128 people will lose their jobs, and the ripple will be felt throughout the local economy. Unemployment in Hancock County, where the plant is located, was above 12 percent in January, already higher than the state average.


“Everybody here is in limbo,” said Peter Colson, the plant manager, who has worked here for 38 years. While the state is offering to help workers learn another trade and is making it easier to sign up for unemployment, he said that many would not accept an unemployment check — himself among them. “I’ve never been unemployed since I was old enough to walk,” he said.
The packers, all of whom are women, are the heart of the processing plant, largely because they still work the fish with their hands. They are paid by the number of cans they pack and can earn up to $18 or $19 an hour.

from sea to shinning sea

1 comment:

  1. Not everyone agrees with you.

    barack hussein obama believes that everyone can and should work for the government, whether it's in government sardine packing plants or in the medical profession... those with no talent for anything can be community organizers.

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