Opportunity in transition
By Chris Walker (Contact)
Originally published 12:59 p.m., January 29, 2008
Updated 12:59 p.m., January 29, 2008
Tyson's announcement last week that it would eliminate 1,500 jobs in Emporia sent shock waves through the community.
Although people liked to complain about Tyson, there was no denying that Tyson was our largest employer and contributed a significant amount of money to our community.
Now the real work begins of shaping the community and determining where we go from here. It is good that we already have in place strong economic-development programs and aggressive city leaders to see us through this time of transition.
For people living in the community, it is important to stay positive and understand that this is a time of transition. With transitions come opportunities to build a stronger community.
This is not the first time our community has gone through a transition. When construction of Wolf Creek was completed, 5,000 well-paid workers left the area. The exit of the Santa Fe Railway took a large chunk of Emporia’s middle class.
As our community makes its plans, the Emporia Tyson plant will have its own changes to get through. Plant manager Mike Fiehler will have the unfortunate task of reshaping his plant to serve as a cold-storage center for Tyson and as a processor of specialty meat cuts.
Fiehler is a no-nonsense plant manager who has a reputation for running an efficient operation. Over the coming week, he will make more decisions about who stays and who will be let go. For Fiehler, these are not easy decisions. He has often spoken of his pride in his employees and has said they are like family to him.
Undoubtedly, Fiehler does not like the changes that corporate headquarters has thrown at him, but he will stay committed to making this plant strong and will be working to aggressively pick up work that other plants don’t want to do.
The bottom line is this: It is a time for transition in our community and this will likely make our community stronger in the long run. It is also a time for people to put their differences aside and help pull our community forward.
justamom (anonymous) says...
I do not envy the upper management who have to make decisons on who stays and goes where. It is a sad thing to happen to the community of Emporia. I have been a resident of Emporia for over 30 years and am sad to say this town seems to be going no where. I hope and pray that Emporia and its citizens will recover and shine through this horrible difficult time, but i see a huge amount of Emporia's population leaving the area. I dont know how the city can survive this hit.
January 29, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whammy (anonymous) says...
It has been along time coming and needs to be. Tyson/IBP and their hiring practices form cheap labor are an insult to the tax payers of lyon county. I started at IBP in 1979 with in 6 months I was making $8.35 per hour with 401k, and health insurance. What are the Somallis starting out now at 30 years later? The illegal immigrants use to think it was funny to work here in the U.S. illegaly and not be deported. Emporia City and County commissioners should take this opportunity to clean up Emporia, take back our commuity and return the tax dollars to the people that pay them. In a statement by Tyson, they said the pay $70m a year in payroll taxes to the community. But if they paid fair competitive wages for the work they would have been paying $100m a year in payroll. Now I ask you, what would the area business`s and the city of Emporia think of having an extra $30m a year spent in the community. Not to mention if IBP had never been allowed to hire illegal mimmigrants and Somalis for the last 30 Years. Do the math Emporia. 30 Years at perhaps another $30m a year in payroll. Look what was missed out on, Thanks city and county commisioners for not looking out for the people that pay your wages and salaries. Thank God we moved our business last year from Emporia and not regretting it for a minute. Best wishes Emporia, You are home in my heart.
PS, By the way who will clean up all of the years of contamination and filth spread out in, on and under our city. Great ready tax payers of Lyon county.
January 29, 2008 at 6:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AreYouHappyNow (anonymous) says...
I'll second that! Thank God you moved your business!
January 29, 2008 at 6:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hillraiser (anonymous) says...
Well put, Whammy.
January 29, 2008 at 6:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
amber_b (anonymous) says...
so whammy are you being a little racist saying that filth was coming from the hard working hispanics or somalians? Cause i know white people that dont know what a shower is. somalians started out at the same wage anybody else did why dont you do a little research and depending on how hard you wanted to work you could make up to 15 dollars an hour sorry you made eight thirty five thirty years ago.
January 30, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Kansasforlegalimmigration (anonymous) says...
2-3-08
Tyson’s reduction in work force is in part the responsibility of those who chose to willingly employ ILLEGAL ALEINS in the past. Those plants in western Kansas were not built because there was a ready work force. They were built because there was going to be a huge ILLEGAL ALEINS work force available at lower wages than were being paid in Emporia, Wichita, Arkansas City just to name a few.
We need to fix this problem.
We are asking that you give your full support SB 458, “The Kansas Illegal Immigration Relief Act” during this 2008 session of the Kansas Senate.
This bill has been introduced by Sen. Peggy Palmer and Co-Sponsored by Senators Barnett, Huelskamp, Journey and Ostmeyer.
This bill address five of the most important issues to curb the tide of illegal aliens currently invading Kansas as well as other states.
1.Allow state and local authorities to enforce federal immigration law.
2. Prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving state services such as welfare.
3. Require employers to verify the citizenship of potential hires using the federal Employment Eligibility Verification system, called E-Verify
4.Impose new penalties for businesses that hire illegals.
5. Toughen penalties for using or making false identification for illegal immigrants.
This bill is needed to begin to curb the onslaught of Illegal Aliens we have witnessed in the United States since the “Great Amnesty of 1986”. There have been many attempts this past year to pass feel good “amnesties” in the US congress. Thankfully none of these have been passed.
We have personally seen entire industries taken over by companies who hire illegal labor. These companies hire Illegal Aliens at rates lower than the cost of hiring legal IMMIGRANTS or US Citizens. By allowing this to happen, we have created an underclass of “modern day slave labor” which works for less money, fewer or no benefits and no recourse. Meanwhile due to the unfair competition many American business people have had to close because they could not compete.
We feel that we need to secure our borders and remove the Magnets (jobs, social services etc.) that draw Illegal Aliens before we attempt to assimilate those who are here illegally now. We can’t afford to keep making the same mistakes over and over.
In 1986 we had 2.7 million Illegal Aliens in our country. Because we took no action to prevent a repeat of this flood by securing the borders and removing the MAGNETS, which draw more illegals, we now have 10 times that number to deal with today. For us to add to the seven (7) amnesties passed in the US congress since 1986 without preventing a repeat is unacceptable.
We need for you to call, write, Fax and email your senators to protect Kansas’s workers from the unfair hiring of ILLEGAL ALEINS.
February 3, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Kansasforlegalimmigration (anonymous) says...
kansasforlegalimmigration@cox.net
Kansas Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee
Senator Jim Barnett
1400 Lincoln
EMPORIA, KS. 66801
barnett@senate.state.ks.us
Fax 620-342-6520
Senate Office phone 785-296-7384
Senator Karin Brownlee
14725 S Chalet Drive
OLATHE, KS. 66062
brownlee@senate.state.ks.us
Fax 913-782-1085
Senate Office phone 785-296-7358
Senator Pete Brumgardt, Committee Chairman
522 Fairdale Road
SALINA, KS. 67401
brungardt@senate.state.ks.us
Fax 785-825-0273
Senate Office phone 785-296-7390
Senator Marci Francisco
1101 Ohio
LAWRENCE, KS. 66044
francisco@senate.state.ks.us
Senate Office phone 785-296-7365
Senator Mark Gilstrap, Ranking Minority Member
4218 N 126 Street
KANSAS CITY, KS. 66109
gilstrap@senate.state.ks.us
Fax 913-573-8169
Senate Office phone 785-296-7357
Senator Julia Lynn
18837 W 115TH TERRACE
OLATHE, KS. 66061
lynn@senate.state.ks.us
Senate Office phone 785-296-7382
Senator Ralph Ostmeyer
Box 97
GRINNELL, KS. 67738
ostmeyer@senate.state.ks.us
Senate Office phone 785-296-7399
Senator Roger Reitz, Committee Vice-Chair
1332 Sharingbrook
MANHATTAN, KS. 66503
reitz@senate.state.ks.us
Senate Office phone 785-296-7360
Senator John Vratil
9534 Lee Boulevard
LEAWOOD, KS. 66206
vratil@senate.state.ks.us
Senate Office phone 913-451-5100
February 3, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Kansasforlegalimmigration (anonymous) says...
The point most often missed with IMMIGRATION is that there is a clever confusion of LEGAL IMMIGRANTS with ILLEGAL ALEINS.
They are not the same. We welcome IMMIGRANTS, from all nations. We only ask that they use the legal processes in place for many, many years. The Immigrants who passed by our beloved Statue of Liberty came to our country LEGALLY in search of a new and better life.
We welcome them, as we welcome legal Immigrants today.
Today, our country is flooded by individual who have come uninvited, and have stolen jobs and government services from American Citizens and those LEGAL IMMIGRANTS who would love to come LEGALLY to the USA. We welcome those LEGAL Immigrants.
We do however, not welcome ILLEGAL ALEINS. ILLEGAL ALEINS have chosen to illegally invade our country. They have no respect for our laws, in fact they do everything they can to Break our laws. Yes, good shares of those ILLGAL ALEINS are good hardworking people who are looking for a better life. Before we can even begin to look at giving them that option we must secure our borders, remove the Magnets such as job, welfare that draws them to our country.
Supporting the “Kansas ILLEGAL ALEIN RELEIF ACT” is a great first step for Kansas to lead in making Immigrants welcome.
February 3, 2008 at 6:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cherry_Bomb (anonymous) says...
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Governor Says She Had Wrong Info on Tyson
Posted: 4:11 PM Feb 1, 2008
http://www.wibw.com/13newsat6/headlines/...
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Friday she was given inaccurate information regarding
the massive lay-off at the Emporia Tyson plant. Tyson announced Jan. 25 that it would
end beef slaughter operations at the Emporia facility, cutting 1500 of that plant's 2400 jobs.
**** Sebelius says she was told jobs would be offered within Tyson for all of the employees
who are being laid off. At a Friday news conference, she said she's now learned the offers
will be made to as FEW as 400 workers.
Half of the job offers will be at the Finney County plant.
The rest at Tyson plants in Nebraska and Illinois.
Emporia city leaders, community members and Sen. Sam Brownback were meeting
behind closed doors in Emporia Friday afternoon to talk about the Tyson situation.
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February 3, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )