Gildan Yarns lifted the spirits of a lot Rowan and Davie county residents when the governor announced Tuesday that the company will build new manufacturing plants in the area employing nearly 400 people. Kudos to state and local leaders who made this happen.
“New manufacturing plants” is a phrase some feared we’d never hear again. The obituary of the U.S. textile industry has been published many times over as companies flocked to cheaper labor sources outside the county, but there’s life in it yet. It’s good to see companies like Gildan investing in American plants. And Rowan and Davie have plenty of former textile workers eager to fill them.
No wonder Gov. Pat McCrory traveled to Mocksville to ballyhoo the news, a partial fulfillment of his campaign promise to attract jobs.
Gildan will receive incentives worth $3.49 million from the state, $3.4 million from Davie and Mocksville and $4.2 million in Rowan — all dependent on creating the number of jobs promised. Rowan County is also giving Gildan land, charging the company $1 for 28 acres of county property on Heilig Road said to be worth at least $296,000, behind a plant Gildan is already upfitting for production here. Rowan still comes out way ahead, netting $3.5 million in new tax revenue over 10 years, not to mention 184 jobs paying an average of $32,279 annually.
Jim Sides was the only snag in this seamless deal — an irrelevant snag, as it turned out. Rowan’s county commission chair, Sides questioned why Davie would pay only $12,000 per job in incentives while he figured the Rowan jobs cost $36,000 each — a figure he inflated by including a $2.2 million federal grant to build infrastructure that will greatly benefit the county. Also, Davie is paying Gildan cash up front, while Rowan is rebating taxes over seven years.
Sides said he was “disturbed” by stories he’d heard of Gildan aggressively recruiting employees away from local companies instead of hiring the jobless — never acknowledging that such hiring would still create openings for the unemployed. The manner with which Sides talked down to Gildan President Chuck Ward, without humility or tact, was stunning.
Fortunately, Sides stood alone on this vote; his usual allies knew better. The rest of Rowan County is more than happy to rebate taxes and give away largely inaccessible land in exchange for seeing some of our neighbors and friends take pride in gainful employment again. Manufacturing has been the lifeblood of Rowan County’s economy. Thanks to Gildan, that lifeblood will be flowing with greater force again.