Haskon workers, supporters put up a fight

By Deirdre Watson

TAUNTON – After working at the Haskon factory for 31 years, Dick Pacheco retired in 1992.

Now, others who have worked at the factory for decades are facing the end of their Haskon careers sooner than they expected. The company Esterline is looking to close the factory.

But workers – and politicians – are fighting back.

Pacheco’s son, State Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), is trying to save the jobs of the Haskon workers facing layoff.

“I’ll be around for as long as you want,” he told workers at a recent union rally designed to support workers.

This is a familiar scene being played out across the country. Factory workers are fighting to save their jobs by enlisting the help of politicians and labor union leaders.

“Some of these jobs were lost because of foreign competition, but a larger fraction were lost due to technological innovation or changes in customer preferences”, said Sean Mulholland, Stonehill College professor of economics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1,570 people were laid off in the U.S. in February 2010, compared to 2,737 people in February 2000.

“Manufacturing job loss and creation has always been a common occurrence in many countries. The US is not the only country to experience a loss in manufacturing jobs: from 2000-2006, China lost 4.5 million manufacturing jobs,” said Mulholland.

In Taunton, community members and groups showed support for Haskon at an April 12 rally.

The rally began on the Taunton Green, and continued with a march down Weir Street to the Haskon factory.

It was estimated that about 100 people participated in the events throughout afternoon.

Supporters and workers held signs that read “Haskon jobs...80 years in Taunton. Keep ‘em in Taunton” and “We need jobs not greed!” Many were wearing shirts that said, “Keep Haskon jobs in Taunton”.

Esterline, the company that owns the factory, plans to close the Taunton factory in favor of cheaper labor in California and possibly Mexico.

The factory has about 150 workers. Most of them are members of UE Local 204, the Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America.

The workers, politicians and union representatives hope to find another company to buy the Haskon factory from Esterline. If this doesn’t happen, they hope to secure fair severance packages for the workers.

Several politicians attended the event, including congressman U.S. Rep. (D-Mass.) Barney Frank and Democratic candidate for governor Grace Ross.

Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Robert Haynes came to voice support for the workers. “When they tell you Haskon owns this company, tell them people lie Dick Pacheco own this factory”, he said, referencing Marc Pacheco’s father.

Taunton City Council president Deborah Carr offered workers her support. “You are strongly supported by all our city councilors,” she said. She said the city could offer tax incentives to companies that might want to buy the factory. The union hopes that if another company bought the Haskon factory, employees might be able to keep their jobs.

The Rev. Mark Cregan, president of Stonehill College in Easton offered his support and the support of the Stonehill community to the workers. He said a short prayer and told the crowd, “every one of us has a certain human dignity”.

Corey Dolgon, director of community-based learning at Stonehill also attended the march. “It was significant that so many political leaders were there,” he said in an interview after the event.

Bob Kingsley, director of organization in UE’s national office, who flew in from Washington D.C. talked to the crowd. He encouraged workers to fight for justice.

“We intend to grab onto your leg, Esterline, like a junkyard dog,” said Kingsley.

The Haskon Factory has been in Taunton since 1931. Since its opening, it has provided steady jobs for many community members.

Peter Knowlton, president of UE District 2, was pleased with the turnout. “We got more people than we expected, more people from the community” he said. Haskon has been a relatively large employer in Taunton for the last 80 years.

“The purpose of these rallies is to give hope, to show that we’re optimistic about the situation,” he said.

Dolgon agreed that the march was a success as well. “On the one hand, the workers need to see and hear the level of support and commitment they have from thei union and other unions, from the community and its political leaders, and from surrounding institutions like Stonehill. This support helps them maintain their efforts, courage and solidarity to carry our a difficult struggle. On the other hand, the march is a show of strength to the company and, along with publicity and media attention, it helps to put pressure on company to negotiate more fairly”, he said.

Allison Wilhite, a senior at Stonehill, attended the rally to show her support.
“Hopefully the good weather reflects good fortune for the Haskon workers,” she said.