Good Afternoon, I am Evans Tindal from Cheraw, SC and I am here today representing the Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce Economic Awareness Committee.
Cheraw is a town of 6,000 located in Chesterfield County in the northeast part of the state. To truly understand the impact that China is having and can potentially have on Cheraw, it is important to understand our origins and history.
Cheraw is the oldest inland community in South Carolina. The first settlers came to the area in the 1730s. Like today, its very existence is tied to commerce. It was settled because of its importance as the highest navigable point on the Great Pee Dee River. Even then, trade was key to Cheraw’s economy.
Because of this fact, Cheraw played a role in the Revolutionary War and was occupied in 1779 by British troops under the command of General Cornwallis. We survived this assault and occupation only to be overrun and occupied almost a century later in the War Between the States by General Sherman. Cheraw persevered and thankfully was not destroyed after weeks of occupation. The citizens of Cheraw have always had the ability to adapt and survive under the most difficult of situations. Unfortunately, the assault we face today is more subtle but no less dangerous.
Since the middle 1900s until very recent years the town has thrived; driven by a strong industrial base. In our small town we have 14 industrial plants including 2 Fortune 500 companies. This has provided us with a diverse citizenship, a strong community, and a high quality of life.
However, since 1997 we have lost 716 industrial jobs and witnessed the closing of several plants. Many of these jobs can be tied directly to China and all have been significantly influenced by the surge of cheap goods into the American market from the Peoples Republic of China.
The impact of these 716 industrial jobs in manufacturing wages alone is over 19.5 million dollars lost annually. Additionally, it has been well established by economist that every manufacturing job supports 1.4 service jobs. We have seen tangible evidence of this in Cheraw as our service jobs have disappeared, taking another 15.5 million dollars of service wages out of the local economy. This combined loss of wages of over 35 million dollars has a tremendous impact on a community our size. Unemployment in our county in November was 11.1%.
In addition to lost wages, we have seen an erosion of our tax base along with a loss of water and sewer revenues. This totals over half a million dollars annually in the Town of Cheraw alone.
Property values have actually decreased in the last three years. Right now there are more homes for sale than anyone can ever remember.
The citizens of Cheraw have always given generously to charities and Churches, but now we are seeing the financial realities of unemployment and uncertainty overcome the spirit of generosity. In my own Church, which was established in 1768, we have seen our congregation and likewise our contributions diminish as members have lost jobs or been forced to move to find other employment.
The industrial jobs in Cheraw not only provide good wages but also health care benefits. As people are stripped of these benefits the quality of medical care in our community is sure to deteriorate.
I feel especially well qualified to discuss the impact of China on my community because I have been personally connected to 60 of the 716 industrial jobs lost. These jobs were lost from my company. I am the Director of Operations for Cheraw Yarn Mills, the oldest company in Cheraw. In our 87 years we have seen many changes and met many challenges. We survived the Great Depression. We have invested heavily in capital equipment and have as modern a facility as can be found anywhere in the world. We have financed these investments internally – that is to say we have absolutely no debt. Our employees are empowered and work with no direct supervision. We have a strong focus on Product Development and have discovered and penetrated several new markets in the last 10 years. We are ISO certified and have a reputation as being the highest quality supplier in our business. Our second leading cause of turnover (the first being China by a wide margin) is death and retirement. It is extremely rare that someone leaves us on their own volition or that we have to terminate for cause. Quite simply we have a well-run company that is a very good place to work.
Two years ago we were forced to shut down one of our five business units. The customers that this area served were driven out of business due to imports from China and other Asian countries. That market disappeared for manufacturers in this country.
60 jobs were affected at our company and while we worked hard to relocate as many people as possible, many had nowhere to go. I sat down one on one with each of these employees. Some had worked for our company for over 20 years; many had never worked anywhere else. I looked into their eyes and saw their disbelief, their uncertainty, and their fear and thankfully I often saw their courage. I have been profoundly affected from the experience and it is not one that I wish to repeat.
The impact of China on the community? I know it, I understand it, I am a part of it because I am so connected with the impact of China on the individual.
The real cause of alarm is that what we have seen as manufacturing leaves our community to be replaced in China is just the beginning. The exodus of jobs really begins with the removal of quotas scheduled January 1, 2005. If nothing is done before then, I fear that our community will be affected so significantly and so quickly that we will all be helpless to save it.
While Cheraw is a very special place, its fate is not unique at all. There are towns, large and small in Maryland, Ohio, Kansas, California, and all over the nation that depend on industry to feed its citizens, fund its schools, support its churches, and to breathe life into its very existence.
Perhaps there is, as some would argue, a positive side to the revolution that is diminishing the manufacturing base of this country. Perhaps it is inevitable that it happens and, though unfortunate, the pain of transition is a necessary part of this change. Even if this were so, then surely the revolution- the transition- should not be driven by the artificial and contrived advantages that result from one communist country’s illegal manipulation of their currency.
Surely the vision of a worldwide free enterprise system is not set up to support the 40% currency advantage that China enjoys (as has been discussed so much today in previous testimony). If each employee in my company agreed to work for free, we could not overcome even one half of the disadvantage we suffer from China’s currency policies alone.
Some action must be taken to see that natural forces shape the fortunes of our businesses and communities. Some action must be taken that the best interest of our citizens are protected. Some action must be taken to ensure the national defense of our country, supported by a strong industrial base, is maintained. Most importantly some action must be taken to see that communities like Cheraw and the many others, some that you are familiar with; some action must be taken that our communities and that our way of life is preserved.