Kaine to visit Franklin to meet with International Paper employees
Published: October 30, 2009
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is headed to Franklin this afternoon to meet with community leaders and employees at International Paper, an economic mainstay that announced last week it was closing its mill in Isle of Wight County.
Officials say 1,100 people will be out of work when International Paper shuts down the facility next spring. The company said business has been poor for writing and photocopy papers, as well as the coated cardboard for packaging that is made in the plant in southeastern Virginia.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
I had planned to post my thoughts, however after I read all of Rayzor posts, I have to say you Rayzor, “Well said”.
What is the purpose of Kaine going there other than just some political gain… When you are out of a job, you now have NO income coming in other than the few weeks of Unemployment.
Yes sir, Franklin has gotten their change!!! More change is a coming to a town near you! I am amazed at how many people Obama has duped this election year.
Well, I’m glad to hear that Kaine laid off some state workers. That’s a start.
Somehow, government workers everywhere believe they should be immune to the pain the rest of us experience. Where exactly do they think their paychecks come from, I wonder?
This is familiar ground for Kaine…..Employees getting laid off…...How many of the State Workers that he laid off did he visit?
I’m not blaming Kaine for the closure. I just don’t know what he hopes to accomplish by this visit. The damage has been done. Nothing he says or does will change the fact that this community is devastated. A few feel-good comments from a multimillionaire certainly cannot help anyone there.
The company decided to shut the place down. It had a choice, it wasn’t forced. But everyone here is angry at the governor instead.
Well he’s got to figure out how the state is going to pay the unemployment benefits to these 1,100 workers International Paper just canned. Add to that all the small businesses that are about to close and you get an idea of the devastation this corporation is causing in Franklin.
It would seem appropriate for the Governor to at least express concern for what has happened, however it would be extremely cruel of him to promise help that the Commonwealth cannot afford.
Trying to discount Kaine’s propensity to ignore the Commonwealth for the DNC, one would hope that, at a very minimum, Kaine would engage whatever economic development organizations already exist in an attempt to find a way to attract new business to replace the lost jobs. Perhaps the new Rolls-Royce facility planned in Southside Virginia might be a source of employment for some of the workers - either during its construction phase or later, when aircraft engine manufacturing.
I don’t understand what the purpose of this visit is. The plant is still closing, the people are still out of work, and nothing’s going to change that. What is Big Timmy going to do? Make some condescending speech about how he understands their plight? Kaine is worth millions. He has no idea what these people are about to go through. Spare them the patronizing visit.
Well said Randy.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement