Last week, Goodyear announced the final death blow for its manufacturing presence in Alabama with the closure of its Gadsden facility, which had been an institution in that area for over 90 years.
However, where one door closes, another opens, according to State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Gadsden), who says the closure presents an opportunity for his area to recruit manufacturing.
As lawmakers on the national level have discussed enacting policies to coerce American businesses to relocate their manufacturing core stateside through incentives as to scale back the United States’ dependence on China, which has shown to be a less-than-honest actor throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Alabama, and in particular Etowah County, could be a prospective home.
Gadsden has a long legacy of industry, given its status as a river port on the Coosa River, and its proximity to rail. And although the departure of Goodyear was not good news, there was an upside given the Goodyear facility was one of the last vestiges of organized union labor in the area. According to Jones, new industry had been reluctant to locate in Gadsden, given its reputation of being a union town.
“We’re in a situation now where a lot of things — fortunately agriculture is not one of those things because we do produce the vast majority of what we eat in this country, in-country,” he explained in an interview with Huntsville radio WVNN’s “The Jeff Poor Show.” “We produce a lot of it in Alabama but other than that, a lot of vital essential industries like manufacturing, drug makers, for example, as you said, moved those industries overseas. That’s really hurt. I think when you look at it from a national security standpoint — we’re going to have to do more to bring some of that back. I do think Alabama is poised to get a lot of that industry if it does come back.”
“I’ve long said Gadsden is kind of in the middle of Birmingham, Chattanooga, Huntsville, Atlanta — poised right there to be a potential hub,” Jones continued. “I think the union legacy has been something that kind of kept that new industry from coming, although we’ve seen that turn around slowly. Goodyear was kind of the last remnant of that union legacy. Goodyear was there for 91 years. I think Goodyear in the U.S. was not much more than 100 years old. The overwhelming majority of Goodyear’s life in the United States — Gadsden has been a part of that. That, coupled with the loss of the last big union holder in Gadsden, Etowah County, coupled with this move to bring some industry, critical infrastructure, critical industry back to Alabama and the United States — we could be positioned to benefit from that. That’s my hope, anyway.”
Also, with that legacy of being an industrial community, Jones noted the area offers workforce skills that are perhaps unmatched in other places around Alabama. He cited the existing workforce and the workforce in training in Alabama’s two-year college system.
“There is a base there — as you know, our community college system statewide is doing a lot to train our workforce and meet Governor Ivey’s goal of a half-million additional trained workers by 2025,” Jones said. “And Gadsden State, Dr. Martha Lavender, the president there at Gadsden State — they’re doing a lot to work with industry, to work with the chamber of commerce, and other key stakeholders, education, to get those people plugged into the right holes. That’s going to be a key thing.”
“As far as basic skills, we do have a lot there that we have to offer,” he continued. “It’s just finding a way to make sure we’re taking advantage of skills and placing people where they need to be, and also kind of preparing to get the jobs and industry of the future. One of the things I like at — do you train for what you have, or do you train for what you want? I think you need to do a little bit of both. But obviously, if we want to recruit certain types of industries in Etowah County, Gadsden, Cherokee [County], Dekalb [County], we need to be looking at what’s coming down the pipeline, and helping to lay the groundwork and train our workers in anticipation of that.”
Jones also touted one advantage for his state senate district, which was Etowah County’s Little Canoe Creek Megasite, which includes access to Interstate 59 and railroad, adding it was a place he looks to for the future.
“We’re positioned to do well, should we find the right suitor,” Jones said.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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