December 18, 2009 Volume 110 Number 24
Carhartt discontinues ‘Made in USA’ apparel program Carhartt,
a company that manufactures work wear, some of it manufactured by
unionized workers in the United States, is discontinuing its Made
in USA apparel program.
Carhartt will still produce some goods in America. However, the company
will not keep the U.S. inventory separate from the foreign inventory,
said Union Apparel House, an online retailer of American-made/union-made
clothing.
For that reason, Union Apparel House and other online retailers that
sell only U.S.-made products will no longer carry Carhartt clothing.
“The items manufactured in U.S. plants will no longer be separated
from the imported inventory, which makes it impossible for dealers
like ourselves to order just the U.S. products,” Union Apparel
House owner Max Henderson told the NW Labor Press.
Union Apparel House is located in Wyoming, Minnesota, and its employees
are members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
Henderson is a former union president of United Auto Workers Local
683, whose membership was decimated by offshoring.
Henderson believes that Carhartt is slowly moving to offshore all
of its manufacturing. “About 85 percent of their product already
is made outside the U.S.,” he said.
Henderson suggests that shoppers continue to look for the Made in
USA label when purchasing Carhartt clothing. “Once that inventory
is gone, though, there won’t be any way of knowing what is made
where,” he said.
Union Apparel House has a full line of Carhartt clothes made in the
U.S. Their Web site is www.unionlabel.com.
Earlier this year, Carhartt surprised Glasgow, Kentucky, city officials
by announcing that it will close a distribution center and sortation
plant in March 2010, eliminating 100 jobs. The facilities have operated
there since 1993.
In June, the company closed a sorting plant in Marrowbone, Kentucky,
and a distribution facility in Illinois, cutting 33 jobs.
A company spokeswoman told the Glasgow Daily Times that Carhartt expanded
facilities in other locations and decided to consolidate its distribution
and sorting operations into those buildings.
Carhartt, based in Bowling Green, Michigan, is family owned and has
operated for about 120 years. It employs about 3,500 workers worldwide.The
plants will run on a normal schedule until mid-March, when they will
close. Employees will be offered severance packages, and some workers
might get an opportunity to transfer to a plant in Hanson. © Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc.
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