Opinion

RIP, UTC Pittsfield

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    About 10 years ago, I decided to take a break from journalism and went to work for two summers at Edwards Systems Technology in Pittsfield, which eventually became United Technology Systems or UTC.
    The working conditions were pretty decent. The factory was spacious, clean and air-conditioned in the summer and comfortably warm in the winter. On the other hand, the hours were erratic and the pay was lousy.

    But at the end of the day, I wasn’t worried about getting nasty emails or phone calls about an article I had written. In other words, I never took my work home with me.
    So it was unsettling to learn last week that the plant would be closed within the next year, displacing about 300 workers.
    I have a lot of acquaintances working there who assured me that nothing had really changed in the last decade: the pay is still low and scheduling is still feast or famine.
    One summer I worked 58-hour weeks and you needed a very solid reason to take the entire weekend off, such as a wedding, graduation or funeral.
    Those who stuck around through Christmas, however, had their work weeks cut to 24 or 30 hours during the first quarter of the year.
    While the daily newspaper comment sections are loaded with charges that the closing is the fault of NAFTA, Bill Clinton, Gov. Paul LePage, President Obama, Mike Michaud, Vladimir Putin or a combination thereof, here’s a reality check.
    UTC makes fire alarm panels, CO2 and smoke alarms and signaling devices. My jobs at the plant ranged from soldering the components to testing them.
    The massive panels and audio-visual alarms went into new or renovated buildings such as business complexes or senior citizen housing. When the economy tanks, people don’t build or upgrade. So instead of stocking up on products, wholesalers drop down to “just in time” inventory.
    The sad truth is that Americans will continue to lose manufacturing jobs to countries that pay workers 50 cents an hour and have loose or non-existent environmental standards.
    And when you’re making a product that doesn’t require fast turnaround, shipping cost and times aren’t relevant.
    So Gov. LePage could turn the UTC property into one of his proposed “union-free zones” and the Legislature could give it a $1 million tax break, and it wouldn’t make any difference.
    Unless the economy improves dramatically, the commercial and residential building markets aren’t going to budge.
    As bad as the wages are at UTC, it’s better than no job at all. And that’s the prospect awaiting the workers at the Pittsfield plant.
    The only bright side of the picture is that they have a year to start looking. That’s a drastic improvement over some companies that simply shut down with little or no notice.
    So even though I’m back in the newspaper business, I haven’t forgotten my UTC days or the friends I made there. And I wish them the best of luck.
    And yes, I take my work home with me again — but I’m enjoying it a whole lot more.
    Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.

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