Working in Michigan: Lower pay, lost benefits slam ex-factory workers

[Bozita]

swing state

front page, above the fold

http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0409/05/a01-263624.htm


Sunday, September 5, 2004

Working in Michigan

Lower pay, lost benefits slam ex-factory workers

One-third will land in lesser jobs

By Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News


The Labor Day holiday ritual of attending neighborhood barbecues takes on added significance for Jesus Murguia this year.

It means free meals for himself and his five children.
“Every little bit is going to help. I only got about $700 in the bank,” Murguia, 33, said.

And his $850 rent is due. On Wednesday, the Jackson resident lost his job as an extrusion setup operator at Hahn Elastomer Corp., a maker of plastic auto parts. The 49-year-old Plymouth company went out of business, causing 275 factory workers to lose their jobs at plants in Jackson and Warren.

Murguia and his co-workers join about 210,000 Michigan factory workers who have lost their jobs since 1999. For scores of those workers, it’s more than a job lost. It’s a way of life that’s vanishing.

The number of Michigan workers earning comfortable salaries through a factory job is getting smaller by the month. And many of the newly laid off, often middle-aged and without college degrees, are ill-prepared to compete for the jobs of tomorrow.

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