Trinity Wilson
9/2/11
Globalization
I chose the article titled “New Balance struggles as last major athletic shoe brand still manufacturing in the US.”The new balance shoe is a brand that has been on the market for many years. This is the last shoe company that manufactures out of the United States. Of the many high profile names such as Nike and Adidas, they decided to take their manufacturing business overseas. New Balance has yet to go overseas even though the company could make more money if the jobs were in low wage countries. The shoe factory is currently located in Skowhegan, Maine. New Balance is being faced with a decision of whether or not the company can stand up to a flood of shoes from overseas. Furthermore, the common trend among the current employees in the factory, they have learned to work efficiently. Majority of employees are fighting to keep the business in Maine. They have found ways that would help production rates, “workers cut leather for a pair of shoes in 88 seconds, handle precise stitching in 37 seconds and glue soles to uppers even faster.”
Currently the Obama Administration is negotiating a free trade agreement with Vietnam and other countries. This particular agreement could benefit more people by leading to job opportunities and possibly reducing prices for consumers. On the contrary, if this company is moved overseas it can cut many US jobs in a time where unemployment is high.
I don't oppose globalization, but I don't think as a country we have adapted well to the changes in our own job market. As long as people desire to spend as little as possible on what they buy and demand that their investments in manufacturing companies grow, you will have companies looking to cut production costs anyway that they can. My concern focuses more in the ethical standards by which companies operate internationally. Abusing people in other parts of the world to maximize profits is no less worse than slashing jobs here at home. Both situations can be viewed unethical and abusive. All in all, everyone wants job creation but if a company such as New Balance loses their manufacturing base, we can't create jobs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/new-balance-struggles-as-sole-remaining-major-us-athletic-shoe-manufacturer/2011/07/22/gIQAZsq9eI_story.html
1 comment:
Your post kind of ties in with class and how we were talking about all the factories closing down overseas. I think that we should be focusing more on putting jobs in America we are in terrible shape right now and i think nothing is more important than keeping our country above water. Although it is sad that people overseas are losing jobs as well as we are. We need some sort of spark that will get the world working efficiently again because right now it seems as if everyone is losing out.
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