Remember the infamous factory raid in New Bedford, MA where hundreds of hard-working immigrants were rounded up, detained and separated from their families? Today, a horrible experience of déjà vu as workers at the same factory who make backpacks for the U.S. army face yet another tragedy. Less than three months after purchasing Eagle Industries, the new owner--Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems--is pushing to shut the factory's doors and move the work.
New Bedford textile workers have been trying to form a union since April 2008, but Eagle Industries has tirelessly resisted these efforts. And now the plant's new owners want to close it down in a way that has been described by Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry and Rep. Barney Frank as "abrupt and unnecessary.'' The lawmakers wrote a letter to the Army in early June advocating to keep the New Bedford factory open:
"It is devastating to a community when a company buys a productive plant, and subsequently terminates hundreds of hardworking, committed employees during the worst recession since the Great Depression," reads the letter."When a company whose business plan is dependent on substantial federal contracts behaves this way, it is particularly egregious."
A delegation of Eagle workers will travel to Washington, DC tomorrow to meet with Sen. Kerry, Rep. Frank and the staff of Sen. Edward Kennedy to press their case---or come the end of July, the 350 workers will lose their jobs. U.S. Army decision-makers in Washington, DC and Natick, MA need to agree to changes in the place a contract is performed.
Workers United is committed to protecting the jobs of workers at Eagle Industries in New Bedford, MA. Will you stand with these workers? Please sign a letter to the U.S. Army decision-makers in Washington DC and Natick, MA, asking them to to step in and preserve these jobs.
