Schmatta- The World We Have Created

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/schmatta/index.html

Last night I could not sleep.

I find this to be a state I am in allot recently. The life of a tramp and the life of the poet tend to meld together and one realizes that trying to live two lives is not always possible.

Last night however on HBO they aired their documentary on the Schmatta (apparel)business in New York that is the Apparel and Fashion industry. As I watched it I could not help but remember the great quote by Martin Niemoller about Nazism

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;

Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

I remember when I was kid and the huge manufacturing concerns around Chicago began to close, US Steel in Chicago, Westinghouse in Cicero, Brach's Candy in Chicago, the great mail order houses, Spiegel, where my Dad worked, Alden's, Montgomery Ward, and so many others. I watched as middle class people became lower class. I watched as the Working Class melted away and no one cared no one fought for those people.

We were told that the new "globalized" America would be richer and that all those people losing jobs would be better off. That we would all now work in offices and that we did not need Unions to protect us because we were all free Agents. We would make more money. While we became enamoured of Microsoft and Apple it became apparent that what was being created was an Oligarchy. Technology is fungable and movable and in the end India and China were allot cheaper so we became poorer. In 2009 5% of America owns 95% of its real wealth. The rest of us have Debt.

HBO's Documentary Schmatta talks about the growth in New York of the Garment Center.

It chronicles unionization and professionalization and how 'productivity' resulted in the destruction of the business. This could be transposed to a whole slew of industries in America, Shoes, Furniture, Newspapers, Education, Steel, Autos and more. It was the goal of the corporate titans and their allies to make as much money as possible, which they did. The costs were not important I remember everyone saying "as the market dictates" . Which really means I got mine for you... nothing.

MyDad was in the apparel business he was Director of Sourcing for Spiegel Catalog. I grew up and benefited from a professional industry that paid workers well and allowed my family to have the so called "american dream". My Dad was formed in the world of New York's Schmatta business and knew that world and the world of southern apparel manufacturing very well.

My early life was filled with interesting characters who sold socks, underwear, pajamas and suits. Most of them were Jewish some were Italian like my Dad but it was a culture that employed thousands in the US. Most of these guys worked really hard and did well.

One statistic of interest in the show was that in 1990 85% of all the apparel sold in the US was made here, by 2009 only 5% was made here. For all those people who made the 85% of apparel here what did they do when the jobs left? Whole job categories apart from the sewers have been exported off shore. Thousands of skilled pattern makers, designers, fabric designers and sales people are without work. Whole industries like trims and printing have been out sourced.

What was once the fashion capital, New York, is now just a memory as that world has moved to China to use child labor and slave labor to make a profit. It was moving to see the men and women who worked in apparel who put there kids through college who now are jobless. People who are skilled and worked hard who have been discarded.

Michael Moore's work on the Auto industry compares to what this film does. It illustrates what has happened to the solid, hardworking people that so many of us originate from and how that world has disappeared. The world that I grew up in no longer is possible.

My father started out after the military working for Sears. He learned the garment business and moved up in that world. Later he was one of the first people to take his lines "off shore" which first meant Puerto Rico and then Hong Kong. As he was 'innovating" he was also digging out the foundation of his world.

Short term gain resulted in long term devistation.

So when I refer to Martin Niemoller's quote I think about all the industries that have been taken away and no one said anything...

First they Came for the Shoe Industry and I said Nothing Because I did Not Make Shoes

Then they Came for the Apparel Industry and I said Nothing Because I did not Make Apparel

Then they Came for the Steel Industry and I said nothing because I did not make steel

Then they Came for the Car Industry and I said nothing because I did not make cars

Then They Came for the Printing Industry and I said nothing because I was not a Printer

Then they Came for the Newspaper Industry and I said nothing because I did not Write for a Paper.

Then they came for the Furniture Industry and I said nothing because I did not make furniture

Then they came for the College Professors and teachers and I said nothing because I did not teach.

And when they came for me there was no one left to speak for me....

What have we gained?