Textile Job Losses

Easley wrote, "I am very disappointed that your office responded to our request with what appears to be a generic form letter indicating you were too busy to meet with us."
-Easley, Helms lash Bush for brush off on textiles; 9/7/01 Raleigh News and Observer

"As governors of the ... textile manufacturing states, it is critical that we work together on this important issue," Easley said, noting that North Carolina has lost nearly 70,000 textile and apparel jobs over the past four years.
"Many of these textile jobs are churning, but unless we get full enforcement of NAFTA, we will lose jobs at a faster pace than we can replace them," he said.
"Textile companies invested heavily under the protection of these rules and now the rules have changed," Easley said. "The industry has been placed at an unfair disadvantage."
-Three governors to brainstorm for remedies for ailing textiles; 3/22/02 Associated Press

"Every day, every month that we delay, another plant closes and more jobs are lost," Easley said. "Equity demands that the government act to help textile workers after years of government action that hurt textile workers."
-Governors want federal action to aid textiles; 3/24/02 Charlotte Observer

"One of the most significant struggles that we face is the economic disruption that can be traced directly to recent international trade agreements," Easley said. "North Carolina is transitioning our economy as fast as any state. But we cannot transition an entire industry overnight in the middle of a recession. Our foreign trade policy must reflect this reality."
-Industry needs support, textile maker says; 5/13/03 Winston-Salem Journal

Easley sent Bush a letter asking him to scrap a recent agreement with Vietnam that gives the Southeast Asian nation "new extraordinary access to the U.S. textile market" putting "thousands of additional North Carolina jobs on the firing line… Citing "untold suffering for workers, their families and the communities that have long hosted textile and apparel plants," Easley also asked the president to drive harder bargains with future trading partners.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, Easley said he believes the federal government has branded the textile industry "expendable."
"This has been ongoing in the past administration as well as this one, so it's not a partisan issue," said Easley… "It's just that it has been accelerated by the Vietnam agreement," Easley said, "and the (Bush) administration is the only one that has the ability to fix it." "The deal has been you open up your markets to America and we will let you dump your textiles in our markets," Easley said of the federal government's trade policy… "That may work for the country (as a whole). It doesn't work for the Southeast or North Carolina… "But we need time to complete this transition," Easley wrote. "And even the most highly retooled industry cannot cope with the consequences of trade agreements that flood the domestic market with cheap import.”
-Easley seeks help from president; 5/14/03 Greensboro News and Record

"Many of the Pillowtex workers that I met wore American flags and yellow ribbons in support of our troops," Easley wrote. "...These citizens love their country ... and trust their elected leaders to fight for their jobs and their communities.
"Unfortunately, our deficient national trade policy fails to honor this trust. It is inexcusable that these hard-working North Carolinians may lose their jobs because of poor negotiating tactics and final outcomes, such as the recent agreement with Vietnam."
-It’s high time to reexamine US trade policies; 6/22/03 Asheville Citizen Times

"This is just the latest bad news stemming from the impact of federal trade policies on our manufacturing industry," Easley wrote in a letter to Bush that was announced in a news release. "Since 1994, our textile and apparel industry has lost 138,300 jobs and our manufacturing industry as a whole has lost 200,000 jobs… "I heard their stories when I visited the plant in May," Easley wrote the president, referring to a visit to Pillowtex's Kannapolis headquarters, "and I wanted you to have the same opportunity to hear directly from them on this important issue."
-Easley Urges Bush to aid textile industry; 8/5/03 Associated Press

"Local leaders will determine how funds are dispersed to the most needy to get through the next couple of weeks," Easley said… "We gave you an opportunity to put a real face on what's going on because of the trade policy," Easley said. "Behind everyone of the numbers is a face a family and a community."
-Dole, Easley offer Kannapolis Support; 8/5/03 Independent Tribune

"Here in North Carolina we're used to dealing with natural disasters, floods, hurricanes, ice storms, and we know how to pull together now just like we do in those situations,"
-Easley told; Easley, Dole pledge help; 8/5/03 Raleigh News and Observer

'There is all kinds of manipulation going on, and it's time to act,' Easley said at the closing luncheon of the N.C. League of Municipalities annual conference at the Benton Convention Center. 'I'm calling on you both individually and as a group to put pressure on the delegates in Washington to take action!
'Please stand up and do it,' he said to loud applause from the crowd. 'The more they hear about it, the more they will do something. This is not a partisan issue.'
'This sends a clear message to Washington that we have bipartisan support for action to correct the trade policies,' Easley said. 'We must work together to protect North Carolina jobs.
'These people are the heart of America, they are among the most patriotic people there are,' he said. 'Meanwhile, Washington is trading their jobs to Vietnam, and they don't even have a seat at the table.
'Something is bad wrong' with that, Easley said.
'We are for free trade that is in the interest of those citizens you represent,' he said, drawing more applause from the crowd.
'We must invest in our work force,' Easley said. 'We want to make sure we keep those skilled workers within the borders of North Carolina. That's our goal, that's our strategy.'
'Frankly, for us, the good thing we have is a pretty clear vision of our strengths and what we can build on for the future,' he said.
-N.C. officials urged to act on trade; 10/15/03 Winston-Salem Journal
-Governor’s first veto stops inane legislation; 11/8/02 High Point Enterprise