Iredell in Transition :: Powered by statesville.com and mooresvilletribune.com

Former mill workers adapt to changing business environment

Bethany Fuller | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | April 28, 2008

Many former Burlington Mills workers remember the day the doors to the factory closed for the last time in 1999.

“When they started installing the alarms and the chains, we knew it was going to be closing,” said Donna Cline, who worked in the warehouse. “It was devastating. You hate to give up something you know and are accustomed to.”

Before the mid-1990s, textile and furniture plants dominated the employment landscape in Iredell County. Then — one by one — looms, dyeing centers and cord rooms started shutting down.

Now, nearly 10 years after the Burlington plant shut down, employees say they are still adjusting and coping.

Once their mill jobs were gone, they quickly realized Mooresville’s employment landscape was different. Employers wanted more skills and education, and many workers only had high school diplomas.

“A number of people who left went to work at places like Wal-Mart, Target and service jobs,” said Steve Joyce, former assistant personnel manager at the Mooresville Burlington plant.

While a lot of the employees found work, they weren’t able to find something with comparable pay.

“It was hard on a number of folks,” Joyce said.

Alma Moore, 82, worked at Value Village for three years after leaving Burlington.

“I know we worked ourselves out of a job when we trained the Mexicans,” Moore said.

“As long as I could have had my health, I would have worked there. (At) Burlington, you made good money. We had good benefits, too.”

Moore isn’t the only mill worker misses her old job.

Donna’s husband, Mark Cline, went to work for a trucking company and had a few other odd jobs before landing a position in the Iredell County Solid Waste Department.

“It’s a job,” he said. “Manufacturing is a better line of work.”

Steve Stewart, 46, said the plant closing offered employees like him an opportunity to experience different employment.

Stewart, who works at Harris Teeter and Transolid in Mooresville, said he was on his way to becoming a manager when the mill shut down.

While the pay scale isn’t the same as it was at the mill, he is satisfied with the work he is doing.

“It’s fairly decent,” he said.

“At Harris Teeter, even as a part-time employee, I have benefits.”

Joyce said Burlington tried to help people find new positions, and signed the displaced workers up for unemployment and Federal Trade Act benefits.

Under the Federal Trade Act, people who are laid off can draw unemployment for up to two years if they go back to school for retraining.

Donna Cline was one of the workers who took advantage of the program.

“I didn’t want to end up at Wal-Mart,” she said.

A different skill set
There were other businesses in town, but a mill worker didn’t have the skills needed by the racing industry and the other option seemed to be working in a restaurant.

Employers are seeking specific skill sets these days, including computer, electrical and machinery skills.

Mitchell Community College Director of Occupational Extension Beverly Hedrick said the college partners with a lot of companies to provide additional education. When a plant closes its doors, MCC employees often discuss retraining opportunities with displaced workers.

“Many of them need to be brought up to speed in their skill levels,” she said.

The days of being able to walk out of high school and get a decent paying job are essentially over, Hedrick said.

“More and more, they are looking for a specific skill set,” she said.

In addition to the retraining opportunities, Mitchell also offers a career lab where workers can search for jobs.

The mill closing provided an open door for Donna Cline. She said she wouldn’t have earned her degree if the plant hadn’t closed.

After graduating from college with a computer technology degree, Cline went to work at Mooresville Ford as a secretary.

“Now, I make more than I did in Burlington,” she said. “I liked my job. I don’t think I would go back to it.”

Photo: Mark Cline once worked in the mills but is now at the Iredell County Solid Waste facility at the Mooresville Transfer Station. Bruce Matlock photo

Comments

Maybe one of the big reasons why all of these plants closed down was not just from the Mexicans “taking over” the jobs. American workers wanted allll the extra benefits. No one in America is satisfied with a days’ work a days’ pay. Everyone wants to see “what else” they can get out of everyone. NO WONDER THEY ALL LEFT!!!

Posted by Jennifer Martinez on 04.28.2008 at 02:10 pm