On Sunday, September 29, the New York Times
ran the
second in a series of articles under the heading:
AMERICAN MADE
bringing to light a recent trend in manufacturing
to take back jobs in the textile industry lost to overseas workers during the
last 25 years.
The Times article goes on to explain;
‘The issue wasn’t poor demand for the curtains, pillows and other textiles
being produced at the factory. Quite the opposite.’ ‘… Airtex Design Group had
shifted an increasing amount of its production here from China because customers had been asking for more American-made goods.’
Minneapolis
has pioneered a new movement:
The Makers
Coalition
in an ‘effort to create a skilled work force from scratch’. Businesses,
educational institutions, non-profit organizations and service providers have
joined together to establish a nationally recognized apprentice program for
sewing operations.
The Dunwoody College
of Technology is now offering a full degree program to train and/or retrain
workers of all ages, ethnicity or anyone transitioning from a previous career. - New hope for the large
national population of workers who are still unemployed as a result of the
recent economic slow down.
So why does the Portland
area unemployment rate remain stubbornly at a high 7.3 percent, given the large
number of sportswear and outdoor gear companies headquartered here?
