Defense Contractor AAI Lays Off 184 Workers

Defense War spending is still rising, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. But that is not enough to avoid defense contractors making layoffs because of reduced revenue. Here is the Baltimore Sun with the latest:

AAI Corp., the Hunt Valley company known for its Shadow spy plane, said Tuesday that it is laying off 184 workers from its Baltimore County location.

Workers were to be notified Tuesday. Before the layoffs, AAI employed more than 1,600 workers in Maryland.

Golly, sounds like wee need another war to get things moving again:

The move comes as the defense contracting dollars from the federal government are expected to dwindle. The overall national defense budget rose only slightly this fiscal year, and military leaders say they're taking a hard look at contracts for cost savings.

So less war = more layoffs. What a grim corner we have collectively managed to paint ourselves into.


Bonus: I guess it's good for keeping people employed, if nothing else

"I Made $80 Million Playing a Kid's Game, and Now I'm Broke and Have No Friends"

In my January 17th post, "Extreme Makeover: Reality Edition," I highlighted a story about an Arizona family who was given a million dollar home by the reality teevee show and was unable to keep it. In the post, I asserted that there are a lot of people who just can't handle prosperity. At least some of the blame for that can be placed squarely upon the media, which relentlessly glorifies narcissistic celebrities who live extravagantly lavish and foolishly wasteful lifestyles.

Very few sports figures in recent years have come to personify this phenomenon as much as NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens. To put it bluntly, for well over a decade while he was in his prime Owens perfectly exemplified everything that is wrong with modern professional sports. He was a selfish, me-first attention whore of a ballplayer who hogged the spotlight and thumbed his nose at his coaches while always blaming his teammates for his own shortcomings. Along the way, Owens completely ignored the old mantra that you should be careful how you treat people as you're climbing the ladder lest they shit all over you when you're on the way back down.

So I have to admit to having experienced a considerable amount of schadenfreude when I read the story below from ABC News:

Terrell Owens, the former NFL star receiver who has signed to play for and co-own an indoor football team, is friendless and nearly broke, he told GQ magazine. “I’m in hell,” Owens, 38, said he tells people who ask about his well-being.

After the Cincinnati Bengals did not renew his one-year, $2 million contract last year, Owens has been suffering from his financial shortcomings, including ventures gone bad and child support for his four children, he said.

The $80 million or so he had made in his career is almost gone, he said, but not because he lived a lavish lifestyle.

In a profile story in GQ’s February issue, Owens said his financial advisers lured him into risky investments such as an Alabama entertainment complex that cost him $2 million. He later learned the venture was illegal in the state and violated the NFL’s policy of prohibiting players from investing in gambling, he said.

He also owns a slew of properties that he thought he would be able to rent before the housing market tanked, he said. He has a home in Los Angeles that cost him $499,000 and a multimillion-dollar home that is for sale in Atlanta. The home in New Jersey for which he paid $3.9 million was sold in late 2010 for $1.7 million, he said.

Owens also pays $44,600 a month in child support for his four children, ages 5 to 12. Three of the four mothers have sued him.

The football player laments about losing trust in people and friends. When people text and ask where he is, he answers, “I’m in hell.”

“I don’t have no friends,” he told GQ. ”I don’t want no friends. That’s how I feel.”

It's time we stop, children. What's that sound? It's the sound of me, playing the world's smallest violin for Terrell Owens. No one should feel ANY sympathy for a pathetic excuse for a human being who, because of the utterly skewed values of our society, is handed $80 million merely for playing a kid's game and manages to blow the whole roll by the time he's 38 years old. If I saw the fucker out panhandling I wouldn't waste a wooden nickle on him.

Back when Terrell Owens was still a star in the NFL, there were plenty of idiot sports fans who stupidly looked up to him as a role model. But I would argue that he is actually a much better role model now. Kids everywhere need to be shown his example and taught that he is exactly what they should aspire NOT to be, on the field or off.


Bonus: I'd like to dedicate this song to Terrell Owens. "I guess you ain't worth a damn, when you're broke"

The Wars Come Home: Violent Sex Crimes Committed By Soldiers Have Almost Doubled

If you still need proof of just what a long term disaster America's war policies of the last decade have been for the country, consider this recent article from Reuters:

Violent sex crimes committed by active U.S. Army soldiers have almost doubled over the past five years, due in part to the trauma of war, according to an Army report released on Thursday.

Reported violent sex crimes increased by 90 percent over the five-year period from 2006 to 2011. There were 2,811 violent felonies in 2011, nearly half of which were violent felony sex crimes. Most were committed in the United States.

One violent sex crime was committed by a soldier every six hours and 40 minutes in 2011, the Army said, serving as the main driver for an overall increase in violent felony crimes.

Higher rates of violent sex crimes are "likely outcomes" of intentional misconduct, lax discipline, post-combat adrenaline, high levels of stress and behavioral health issues, the report said.

And here is proof that our top military brass can challenge any CEO in their ability to talk engage in FlackSpeak:

"While we have made tremendous strides over the past decade, there is still much work to be done," Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli said in a statement.

"Many of our biggest challenges lie ahead after our soldiers return home and begin the process of reintegrating back into their units, families and communities," Chiarelli said.

Not to be insubordinate there, General, but it doesn't sound like you've made any fucking strides at all. In fact, it sounds very much like you are backsliding. Might this be because you and your general officer buddies care more about your own perks and cushy retirement gigs with defense war contractors than you do about the health and well being of the troops who follow your insane orders to go invade other countries who pose exactly zero military threat to America? Perish the thought.

So just how bad is this problem?

Violent sex crimes committed by U.S. Army troops increased at a rate that consistently outpaced the national trend, a gap that is expected to continue to grow, the Army said.

The top five violent felony offenses committed by soldiers in 2011 were aggravated assault, rape, aggravated sexual assault, forcible sodomy and child pornography.

Soldiers suffering from issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, and depression have been shown to have higher incidences of partner abuse, according to the report.

Soldiers with PTSD are up to three times more likely to be aggressive with their female partners than those without such trauma, the report said.

Let's also knock off with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder bullshit. As the late George Carlin once pointed out, it's called "shell shock." That's how you describe the condition in such a way that gets the point across. The initials PTSD actually sound like they are describing a form of venereal disease that needs not be taken seriously. Which is probably part of the reason why the military is able to get away with not taking it seriously. Thus the damaged soldiers are often left untreated and end up passing on the damage to the ones they love.


Bonus: "American have a lot of trouble dealing with reality"

McDonald's Discovers That Their Customers Are Just Not That Into Them

I rarely ever describe a story as "laugh out loud" funny, because let's face it, most of the things the LOL tag gets attached to are just not amusing enough to elicit even an audible chuckle. Maybe it's because I'm a cynical old meanie, but I actually DID laugh out loud at this story from the Springfield State Journal-Register about McDonald's recent ill fated Twitter campaign:

When McDonald's began promoting the #McDStories hashtag Wednesday on Twitter, the idea was to get people talking about their experiences with the fast-food giant. And in that sense, it was a rousing success: The phrase exploded in popularity as Twitter users across the country shared stories of their visits to McDonald's.

Unfortunately, McDonald's learned a harsh lesson in social media marketing: When you encourage people to talk about your company, they're not always going to say nice things.

While McDonald's own tweets on the topic tended along the lines of "When u make something w/pride, people can taste it," actual customers were less inclined to toe the company line. "I haven't been to McDonalds in years, because I'd rather eat my own diarrhea," read one top tweet by @Muzzafuzza. Another user, @Jetsonjetsonjet, referred readers to a viral video of a mouse crawling through a bag of hamburger buns.

Meanwhile, animal rights activist @michellevegan tweeted that "@McDonalds scalds baby chicks alive for nuggets," and linked to a site run by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It was retweeted more than 100 times.

Yes, it appears McDonald's lost control of the narrative here.

And no, as much as I'd like to claim the credit, it wasn't me who Tweeted the message I highlighted in bold above. In fact, I don't Tweet at all. But if I ever did, I'd retweet that bad boy as many times as I could.

Hey, McDonald's, I know you and I haven't been on speaking terms since I got that mild case of food poisoning at one of your horrible restaurants a decade ago, and I realize that you are probably offended that Super Size Me is one of my favorite documentaries, but let me give you a little bit of friendly advice here. People generally don't flock in to buy your Big Macs, McNuggets and McMuffins because they are able to taste the alleged pride by which your minimum wage earning staff thaws that shit out, heats it up and sticks it in a bunch of garbage dump filling wrappers. They buy that crap because it is cheap and convenient, and we're a culture that has come to value cheapness and convenience at the expense of nearly everything else.

So just go with the flow and embrace the suck. After all, it is exactly that which has made your company so insanely profitable in the first place.


Bonus: "I think I'm going to have to go Super Size!"

Swap-O-Matic: A Vending Machine Based on the Barter Economy

On the one hand, the media keeps telling us our consumer-based economy is is getting better, then on the other hand they report individual stories which prove exactly the opposite. Here is the latest such story from MSNBC:

There are about 7 million vending machines in America. And what do the vast majority of them sell? Sodas and sodium- or sugar-heavy snacks (which aren’t good for you), packaged in plastic or PET and shipped around the country (which isn’t good for the planet). We’ve all used vending machines. But despite their convenience, they certainly aren’t a solution to humanity’s problems.

Or are they? The Swap-o-Matic, created by the New York City-based designer Lina Fenequito, is a vending machine that lets you “recycle things you no longer need and get things you want — all for free.” You create a Swap-o-Matic account by entering an email address on the machine’s touch screen. You’re then issued three credits. You can earn more credits by donating items to the machine and spend them by getting items in the machine that someone else has donated.

Fenequito, who worked for Americorps before earning an MFA at Parsons School of Design, says the project is about promoting “a shift in culture away from an emphasis on unconscious consumption towards a more sustainable way of life through reusing and trading.”

The Swap-o-Matic is currently migrating around New York City. You can look up its location on the project’s website and, if you’re in New York, drop by to donate or peruse what’s available. Soon you’ll be able to see what’s in the machine online as well.

Before I continue, let me just say that I think this is a great idea--one that is long overdue, in fact. Hopefully, these machines will catch on and spread quickly around the country.

As an economic indicator, however, it is yet another sign that there has been a sea change. Modern America is a throwaway society. Use it up quickly and dump it in the landfill. That's the very mantra of consumerism.

Few except the downtrodden and the small percentage of people who consciously do not play the consumerist game actually seek out used goods, even though it more than makes sense from a personal finance standpoint. The fact that a business such is this is starting up and seems to have bright prospects is a very telling indicator.


Bonus: The Boss understood the consumerist dream - "Mister, on the day the lottery I win, I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again"

$100 Million in Increased Profit = 172 Layoffs

Sometimes the CEOs of big corporations will try to sugarcoat the fact that they are actually laying off their employees out of sheer greed. At other times, however, they will simply extend a big middle digit to the workers and communities they destroy in order to line their own pockets. As reported by the Hartford Courant last week, one unfortunate Connecticut town is about to experience the latter:

RR Donnelley & Sons, a $10.6 billion global printing company, is closing its Windsor location in March, putting 117 people out of work.

In a press release that same day, the CEO told investors that 2011's cash flow would be better than previously projected — instead of having $600 million in profits (not counting capital expenditures, taxes and debt service), it will have $650 million to $700 million.

In its third-quarter earnings report, the company said profits tripled from the same time last year, and sales increased 8 percent.

So what did the CEO have to say for himself about the layoffs?

"We continue to have success in the marketplace, winning new work and expanding customer relationships. Given the challenging global economic environment and sluggish financial markets activity, we are pleased with our results," said Thomas J. Quinlan III, RR Donnelley's president and chief executive officer. According to Forbes Magazine, he was paid $2.64 million in 2010, and owns $6 million in stock in the company.

There you go, Occupiers. If you need yet another corporate poster child scumbag to highlight why you are doing what are doing, R.R. Donnelley President and CEO Thomas J. Quinlan III just gave you the perfect gift.


Bonus: "I never understood why the people of France cut off Marie Antoinette's head. Now I fucking GET IT"

"Get Your Ass Down Here, Prime Minister Harper!"

Holy crap, what's this? The mayor of a city not taking lying down the gutting of a local factory's workers' pay and benefits after the foreign corporation which owns it was granted huge tax breaks? Not to mention that same mayor is also excoriating the nation's leader for favoring corporate interests over those of the workers? Fabulous! Too bad it is only happening north of the border, as reported Saturday by Digital Journal:

"Get your ass down here, Prime Minister Harper!" bellowed Joe Fontana, mayor of London. In 2008 Harper visited the city's EMD plant, announcing corporate tax cuts to increase job security for Canadians. Now, EMD workers are locked out by their U.S. owner.

So what exactly has the mayor all up in arms?

Since the start of the year, about 425 unionized Electro-Motive Diesel workers in London have been locked out by Progress Rail, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. The highly profitable, global company shocked many by demanding London workers take a 50 percent drop in pay, accept deep cuts to their benefits, and stand by as their pension plans were gutted.

Yeah, that's pretty bad. I can see why people might be pissed off. And I found these quotes to be particularly delicious:

Stop, ask a pleasant looking older woman why she is there. You learn her son has worked at EMD for years and his reward is being locked out, put onto the street in January in the middle of the Canadian winter. "Tell Harper to get the money back . . . It's our money he gave to those bastards!" She spits out the words with venom.

Everyone hears the personal story of the Jones family when Brianna Jones and her father, Ian, take centre stage. Brianna made her contempt for the giant American company clear. Without unions she said, "We'd all be living in the slums. They don't care." She continued, "Our family's budget will be slashed in half." Brianna is attending university in Windsor and plans on going on to earn her doctorate. A crumbling family budget would hurt.

"It is morally wrong to call (my father's) life's work unskilled," she says talking about her dad. Brianna is proud of her father. "We should not have to inherit a society where greed trumps morality." The crowds loudly chants, "Greed. Greed. Greed."

Oh, and here you see the lingering effects of the Occupy movement:

But it was not only private and public-sector labour unions that were attracted to the rally; It also drew non-labour supporters as well. Sister Sue Walker of the Sisters of St. Joseph in London warned, "The social contract is breaking down." She said, "Wealth is trickling upwards" and this is "tearing at the fabric of society. Now is the time for the 99 percent to stand together."

The biggest question I have every time I read the latest story about a factory being shut down so that production can be moved to China, or workers being laid off by CEOs who are still paid tens of millions of dollars is: where is the outrage? Every time this kind of shit happens in America, the workers just meekly take it and don't ever protest. Why not yell and scream and make your voice heard? Ultimately, it might not save your job, but it might serve to finally wake people up to what is really going on in this country.


Bonus: Which side are you on?

J.C. Penney to Eliminate Thousands of Jobs

In the wake of the big store closing announcement by Sears, comes a similar story today about long time rival J.C. Penney. No store closings annocement as of yet, but the comapny's new CEO is apparently planning to eliminate "thousands of jobs," which would seem hard to do without closing at least a few locations. Here is Bloomberg with the details:

J.C. Penney Co., run by Apple Inc.’s former retail chief, will cut thousands of jobs as part of a plan to overhaul the company, the New York Post reported.

Chief Executive Officer Ron Johnson is eliminating positions that involve re-tagging merchandise and putting up temporary signs and displays, the Post said, citing people it didn’t name. The reductions will affect employees at almost all of J.C Penney’s 1,200 stores in the U.S.

The job cuts are part of a strategy to replace the company’s traditional sales and clearance events to offer everyday low prices, the newspaper said. J.C. Penney is holding an event on Jan. 25 to announce Johnson’s plans.

The Post said Johnson is being encouraged to cut jobs by J.C. Penney’s largest shareholders, William Ackman and Steve Roth.

Like Sears, J.C. Penney is an iconic American retailer that has been around for more than 100 years. Also like Sears, the chain has in recent years lost all of the qualities and connection to local communities that once made it special. No doubt this action is just the first step that will eventually lead to the chain's demise. And you can bet that vultures Ron Johnson, William Ackerman and Steve Roth will extract every dollar of value they can before they bury the corpse.

NAFTA's Latest "Free" Trade Gift: Carrier Plant in Tyler, Texas, Moving Production to Mexico

Probably no other state in the U.S. has been as staunchly supportive as Texas of the politicians who have been firmly in the back pockets of big business and enacted the globalization policies which have wrought devastation upon working and middle class Americans. Nevertheless, as a staunch opponent of both big business and "free" trade (Once again, it's only free for the elites who profit from it and is paid for by those who lose their jobs) I still take no satisfaction from seeing the policies they have consistently voted for now devastate their livelihoods.

Among other things Tyler, Texas, was once home to a Kelly Springfield tire factory that was a sister plant to the one in my hometown where my father served his whole career as a middle manager. That plant closed in 2008, and now, according to a local television station, it is being joined by another factory from the Carrier corporation, which is shutting down to move production across the border to Mexico:

More than 400 employees at Tyler's Carrier plant were told this morning that the Carrier plant in Tyler could be closing. The company has proposed the closure but it is subject to a collective bargaining agreement with the union.

If they choose to close, the company will continue operations through the end of 2013.

Carrier tells CBS 19 they are proposing the closure after a review of business and market conditions.

"I thought it was a shame that again we're losing jobs to a foreign country," Carrier worker Darren Hawks said about the possible closure.

He's worked at Tyler's plant for close to 20 years.

"I don't know what I'm going to do because I'm right in the middle of an age where I don't want to be looking for a job. There are a lot of unemployed people out there who are a lot younger than me so I'm just curious what job I'm going to find," he said.

At least one worker knows what the real story is:

Carrier spokesperson Michelle Caldwell says The shutdown is pending a collective bargaining agreement with the sheet metal workers union.

"We go under negotiations starting next week for severance packages and whatever we can get for employees who lose their jobs,"Local Sheet Metal Workers Union manager, Blain Strickland, said.

Strickland says the jobs are headed to Mexico.

"They're wages are like $4 an hour. American companies can't compete with that," he said.

Well, not since NAFTA anyway. But you have to ask yourself this: in a few years when nearly all of America's good paying blue collar jobs have been destroyed by globalization and the economic effects of peak oil, who is going to be left to buy Carrier's products? Because the low paid Mexican workers sure won't be able to afford them.

The idea that poorer Mexicans, many of whom used to live on subsistence farms and have been driven off their land by plunging grain prices that were a direct result of NAFTA and the subsequent flood of American agriculture products into the country, are somehow better off working long hours for crappy wages in the shitty factories that have been built to replace the ones in the U.S. is laughable. Does anyone really think that the surge in illegal Mexican immigrants to the U.S. looking for work after NAFTA was passed was just a coincidence?

Mr. Strickland also took his soon-be-ex-employers task for their excuses:

Carrier said there decision came down to the numbers. They said since 2005 housing starts are down 71 percent and non residential construction is down 59 percent. Carrier said it was those numbers that affected their market decision."

Strickland disagrees with that explanation.

"Since 1992 carrier has closed 6 manufacturing plants in the United States," he said. "There is no other reason than cheap labor."

In the last decade, Tyler's Carrier plant has slowly shrunk its workforce from 1250 to just over 400. A blow to the economy.

No doubt the housing crash was a big factor in the declining profit margins for Carrier, but that still doesn't explain the previous rounds of layoffs and closings during the boom years.

Ultimately, however, despite the unrelenting bad news, hope somehow still springs eternal:

"Next two years you never know what will happen things might go skyrocket high," Stewart said.

Or things might crater to as yet unseen depths. And quite frankly, the latter scenario seems far more likely than the former given that there is no driver for the creation of good paying jobs in America these days.


Bonus: Linda and Emmylou sing a melancholy Bruce Springsteen tune about crossing the border

Mayville Products Corp. To Close Wisconsin Plant - 130 Jobs Lost

This plant closing/layoffs announcement from The Business Journal was quite straightforward as these things go:

Mayville Products Corp. plans to close its factory in Mayville in Dodge County, leaving 130 workers without jobs.

The layoffs are expected to occur between March 19 and March 30, according to a plant closing notice filed Thursday with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

The sheet metal fabricating plant, 403 Degner Ave., is expected to permanently close on March 30.

“We are very sorry that business conditions have forced us to take this action,” the notice states.

Gee...no bullshit spin, no lame excuses for off shoring jobs to China--just a plain, simple, "business sucks, we're outta here." That was almost perversely refreshing.

Monaco RV to Close Oregon Factory, Lay Off 272

Not surprisingly RVs, those big, lumbering behemoths of the American road beloved by many pensioners, haven't been selling well in this era of permanent $3.00 plus gasoline. Here is a local Oregon television station with the latest bad news to hit the industry:

Monaco RV will be ceasing production of motorized RV's permanently at its Coburg manufacturing plant. While the company is not ceasing all operations at the facility, the company anticipates that about 272 employees will be terminated over the next six months.

The first terminations will occur in March 2012.

It has been a common fantasy among many of those in the middle class to retire, buy and RV and go hit the road to see all the sights around the country they didn't have the time to visit while they were working. Most of those who still harbor this particular fantasy need to recognize that expensive fuel costs are soon going to render the option unaffordable for most people if they haven't already.


Bonus: "Vacation...all I ever wanted"

Just Another Sad Tale of Small Town America

Back during the 2008 presidential campaign, Veep candidate Sarah Palin got a lot of mileage by hyping up "small town values," and insinuating that people who live in the rural areas of the country are somehow more American that those who reside in and around the big cities. As someone who grew up in a small town and have lived most of my adult life in urban areas, I found that line of reasoning particularly daffy. Beyond the offensiveness of questioning the patriotism of people just because of where they live, it was also incredibly dumb from a politics standpoint. For there is no quicker way to consign yourself to the dustbin of history as a politician than purporting to stand up for a constituency that is rapidly dying out.

Unless they are lucky enough to be located in or near a big tourist destination, America's small towns and cities have been slowly decaying for a couple of generations now. My own hometown of Freeport, Illinois, reached peak population in the 1970 census and has been slowly losing ground since then as college educated young people like me have deserted the place because there were few good jobs to be had. I often wonder what my life would have been like had I been able to secure a decent job back home after college. As much as I have enjoyed the excitement of residing first in Chicago and then just outside of DC, and having the opportunity to travel to more than two dozen foreign countries, the long dead ideal of small town living does still hold some appeal for me.

As a result, the recent article below from a local television station in my home state struck a particular chord with me:

There was a time when the general store was the beating heart of the rural American town. Friday, another town lost its heart. Huebotter's Store closed for good.

Now many are wondering how they can pump life back into their town.

Things are done the old-fashioned way at Huebotter's.

"I'm noticing that small-town America seems like it's drying up," said Guy Inman.

People here buy just what they need.

"We kept holding off, praying that we would not have to close," said Candace Ellis.

For years, Ellis helped her mother-in-law Joyce order groceries for the store. Joyce's father Paul Huebotter opened the store back in 1928.

What's inside shows all the history there, pieces of a simpler time, a different life. And for those here, Huebotter's is their community.

"The store is viable. It made a living. But there's nobody here to take it and put their heart and soul in it and run it," said Robert Inman.

Inman is a local farmer. He said he will soon have to drive about 30 miles to the nearest store, making small-town living a thing of the past.

The decision to close came about three weeks ago but the concerns had been around for a while.

The store wasn't making the money to stay open.

"Joyce has been here literally her whole life, ever since she was born and her father started it," said Ellis.

With a heavy heart Joyce Ellis sat, watching the time tick by, unable to talk about the doors closing Friday.

Just to recap, this store survived the Great Depression, World War Two, the Cold War, the oil shocks of the 1970s and well into the Internet age. And now it's gone, along with the traditional American small town lifestyle in general.

But beyond just my own stuffy nostalgia, a question that needs to be asked is what are people who will now have to drive 30 miles just to get their groceries (and perhaps their mail when the post office closes) going to do when gasoline becomes unaffordable in a few years? As I wrote back on January 13th in my post, "Riding the School Bus May Be About to Become a Thing of the Past, Part 2," those who live the farthest from the main centers of population and government services are the ones who need to do a crash course on becoming self-sufficient. Because the day is soon coming when they are simply not going to have any other choice.


Bonus: Sorry John, but that world doesn't exist anymore