A Long Whistle In Pennsylvania
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Lots of blaming China.
Very little in what sort of glass or glass products the factory was making, what sort of work were performed by the (ex-)workers, and what sort of wages/benefits were enjoyed by the (former) employees.
The author seems to prefer grinding an ax than to tell the (ex-)workers' stories.
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I believe some of LuFinn's family or friends used to work there. Perhaps he'll weigh in on what all they made...
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I believe some of LuFinn's family or friends used to work there. Perhaps he'll weigh in on what all they made...
@Jolly said in A Long Whistle In Pennsylvania:
I believe some of LuFinn's family or friends used to work there. Perhaps he'll weigh in on what all they made...
Oh yeah, that place is in my blood. Prentices have been at the heart and soul of that factory up and until 20 years ago when my Dad retired. There were still a few deadbeat relatives there, but my Dad leaving was really the end of the line.
Don’t blame China, blame the Steelworkers Union.
And Anchor Hawking.
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Here’s a quick recap of my family history going back. My Dad worked there from 1974-2004. He was shift supervisor the last 10 years and had more guys working under him than what they just let go. The factory was 4-5 times larger back then
My Uncle Rich was Assistant Factory Manager from 1980-1994. He worked in lesser management roles for 15 years before. His son, David was a technician for the factory, then got subsumed by Corning’s technical glass division and worked on the crews that helped develop OLED and also worked on the lenses for multiple telescopes including Hubble.
My Uncle Harry was the Union President from 1984 till 1995. He helped forestall several strikes in the 80s and saved the factory in 1994 (or at least bought it a few more years, we’ll get there later). All 4 of his kids worked there, his wife, and even 3 of his grandchildren were working there when the place shut down.
My Grandfather was President of the Union from 1964-1976. He actually did something pretty cool for the Union and the employees. He established a sort of Costco… The union started buying groceries and clothing items from various distributors and offered them at wholesale (and sometimes less for very needy families) out of the union headquarters.
My great aunt Catherine was the first President of the Union (and only woman President) back in the 50s.
My grandfather had 10 older siblings, and 6 of them and their line all worked at that factory.
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Here’s a quick recap of my family history going back. My Dad worked there from 1974-2004. He was shift supervisor the last 10 years and had more guys working under him than what they just let go. The factory was 4-5 times larger back then
My Uncle Rich was Assistant Factory Manager from 1980-1994. He worked in lesser management roles for 15 years before. His son, David was a technician for the factory, then got subsumed by Corning’s technical glass division and worked on the crews that helped develop OLED and also worked on the lenses for multiple telescopes including Hubble.
My Uncle Harry was the Union President from 1984 till 1995. He helped forestall several strikes in the 80s and saved the factory in 1994 (or at least bought it a few more years, we’ll get there later). All 4 of his kids worked there, his wife, and even 3 of his grandchildren were working there when the place shut down.
My Grandfather was President of the Union from 1964-1976. He actually did something pretty cool for the Union and the employees. He established a sort of Costco… The union started buying groceries and clothing items from various distributors and offered them at wholesale (and sometimes less for very needy families) out of the union headquarters.
My great aunt Catherine was the first President of the Union (and only woman President) back in the 50s.
My grandfather had 10 older siblings, and 6 of them and their line all worked at that factory.
@LuFins-Dad Very interesting your family background there!
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When the steel mills started shutting down in the 80s (not because of Japanese steel, but because of labor inefficiency and a massive pay discrepancy. If the Unions would have accepted a 5% pay cut and allowed some automation, the mills would have been just fine. Management took 10~15% cuts before the factories started shutting down permanently.) Some of the displaced workers started making their way into Corning. They brought their “not my job” approach with them, and production and quality started sliding. To top it off, Anchor Hawking (the competitor) started going through bankruptcies and multiple product dumps. It kept getting a little worse and came to a head circa 1990-1991 when Corning was going to shut the factory completely. My uncle negotiated a deal where they would wind down the consumer goods and refit for technical glass production and development over 5 years. Saved the factory, but as it came time to start retraining the workers on the production of Gorilla glass, the “not my job” guys balked and the whole thing fell apart. Uncle got booted from the presidency, and Corning sold the factory to Borden (World Kitchen) in 1998. They immediately shut down one of the three presses and moved it to a factory in WV. My dad had to go spend 8 months in 1999 working at that factory getting them set up with the press. From there, it just tanked.
So no, Chinese imports did not tank this factory and frankly, Korean imports could have revitalized the entire area since the #1 purchaser of Gorilla Glass is Samsung for their phones, tablets, and monitors. HP, Dell, Microsoft, and others use Gorilla glass as well. But because the motherfucking steelworker union (after my uncle left, the union even joined the USW) and their “not my fucking job” positions, the area is going to continue to languish.
As much as I abhor the guy at 4th street foods and his whole indentured servitude thing with the Haitians, he’s also not wrong when he says it’s hard to find good employees in that area.
