Factory Migration and Disillusionment

The economy in Richmond has had its ups and downs, but the numbers have consistently been lower than the national average, and it seems that over the past few decades the trend has mostly been downward.  Rick Sabados, a 37-year-old Richmondite, has lived in the small city his entire life.  He has his own theories on the local decline of the employment rate. 

“Things started changing with NAFTA,” he said.  “When people started taking jobs out of the country, no one here could get hired anymore.”

Sabados enjoying the day outside.

The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers of trade and investment between the US, Canada and Mexico.  Critics often argue its negative impact on U.S. workers in manufacturing and assembly industries who lost jobs.  Official studies state NAFTA's net effect on jobs as negligible.  However, more than 3 million manufacturing jobs in the United States have disappeared since 1998, though the Economic Policy Institute estimates 59 percent—or 1.78 million—of these jobs have been lost due to the explosion in the manufacturing trade deficit over the period.  As Richmond’s success was and is based in industry, and manufacturing plants are the highest concentration of lost jobs, it makes sense that Richmond would have a hard time under these conditions. 

“Factories here made items for the military during World War II and business prospered for a while,” said Sabados.

But, he went on to explain, factories began to build farm machinery, and machines took the place of people that had previously worked the lands around Richmond, which are still farmed today.  To make matters worse, other factories started closing.  Milso, the casket factory, went to Mexico, and Kemper, a large cabinet factory, went sour due to the economy.  As few could afford build houses or renovate, the company was getting little business.  Kemper was owned by Masterbrand Cabinets, and, according to Sabados, the workers’ union caused wages to be higher than the company cared to pay such an economic state.  The parent company decided it made more sense to simply close the factory.

Sabados, though not a factory worker, has spent much of his time going from job to job.  His specialization is in home improvement, but the market in Richmond is not very supportive of this business, and a high number of empty houses with ‘for sale’ signs can be found around the city.   Sabados did find work with one home improvement company, but had to also take on work at Mendenhall’s Hardware and Domino’s Pizza part-time in order to support himself and his children, who live with their mother.  Eventually, he quit these jobs to spend time with his kids.   

“Then I ended up being broke and my kids stopped coming around,” he said. Currently, Sabados works for the same home improvement company, which allowed him to take his job back, but many wouldn’t be so lucky.

In terms of the national unemployment rate, Sabados acts indifferent and seems disillusioned with governmental efforts to interfere with the economy and reassure the people.  “The rate goes up and down depending on whether people are hired, not wages,” he said.  “So even if someone manages to get or maintain a job, being hired says nothing for the pay rate, which is likely to be low.”  

In order to turn the highest profit possible, companies lay off some and work the people that remain as hard as possible.  Currently, the government is trying to avoid this problem, which leaves many without pay at all.  In order to combat the possible drop in profit, however, companies hire more people and lower the wages they give, knowing that people will take what they can get in order to survive.  But minimum wage leaves families making too little to support everyone, as even single people have trouble affording living expenses on such pay.

“The rates don’t mean anything for a lot of people who are still struggling.”