No big news here—just neighbors talking to neighbors, seeing if they can help.
At its regular meeting this morning, the Aberdeen Area Diversity Coalition discussed the impending closure of Molded Fiber Glass and the loss of over 400 jobs in Aberdeen. The coalition was founded to welcome new Americans to Aberdeen, so given Molded Fiber Glass’s long-standing reliance on and commitment to immigrants in its labor force, this plant closure is of particular interest to coalition members.
Coalition chair Dr. Naomi Ludeman Smith asked what the coalition could do to help laid-off MFG workers with their long-term needs. MFG human resources rep Travis Brist said he came to the coalition today knowing “all of you have resources and care about those people as well,” but he said that, in the 28 hours since the announcement of the closure, he hadn’t really had a chance to look beyond the immediate needs of his “teammates”: making sure they understand all of the benefits and services for which they can qualify and urging them not to disqualify themselves from unemployment insurance by quitting early.
Brist said he has been fielding calls from businesses offering jobs around Aberdeen and elsewhere, like Webster and Iowa. Among interested local employers is Demkota Ranch Beef, whose director of human resources, Jeff Tokarczyk, was at today’s coalition meeting spoke with Brist one-on-one afterwards. MFG is planning a job fair to connect those interested employers with MFG employees. Brist said it is “grim” dealing with so many job losses (including, possibly, his own), but he is encouraged to know there are jobs out there.
Coalition member Sheila Richards asked how many of MFG’s employees are immigrants or refugees. Brist said he didn’t have those numbers, but he noted that many of the new Americans working for MFG have solid English and other skills, some better than some native-born Americans at the plant, so immigrant status alone doesn’t indicate who will need more help transitioning to new work after MFG shuts down in February.
A coalition member asked Brist how many workers he thinks may leave Aberdeen. Brist said he hasn’t had the chance to talk with employees about their intentions, but he noted that some cultural groups have larger support networks in other states that make it a little easier to find jobs. Brist did note that many of his team came to Aberdeen because it is “safe, clean, friendly,” and they don’t want to leave. Another coalition member noted comments in this morning’s Aberdeen American News from an MFG custodian who says he’s tied to this area by family and doubts he’ll find a local job that pays as well as MFG does.
Coalition member Peggy Lister observed that “there’s always a demand” among contractors, plumbers, and electricians for help. Pastor Marcia Sylvester said she hears from a parishioner in construction “has a heck of a time finding employees” because local prospects show up for interviews intoxicated or bail after just a few days on the job. Ludeman Smith said there’s great employment potential for laid-off MFG employees in local small businesses, but some of those businesses hesitate to take a chance on hiring ESL workers from different cultures. Ludeman Smith Said she will continue to push the Chamber of Commerce workforce committee, of which she is also a member, to look into encouraging cross-cultural/cross-lingual hiring in local businesses.
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This evening some less neighborly Aberdonians will gather to hear some stranger from Washington, DC, reinforce their fears and prejudices and make Aberdeen a less friendly place. But this morning, some regular Aberdonians offered their condolences and their help to Travis Brist and hundreds of other neighbors who worked hard, made a quality product, but are losing their jobs because of bad politics from Washington.
It seems to me Aberdeen needs less heedless ideology from Washington D.C. and more old-fashioned South Dakota neighborliness and good sense.