In a county dubbed the “land of steel,” local residents face poverty and housing woes.
  • Pulptastic@midwest.socialEnglish
    7·
    9 hours ago

    I’ve interviewed at two mills in Arkansas. You basically can’t live near the mill, they are located in or near dead desolate towns where you’ll get stabbed for meth money. You have a long car commute to an overpriced McMansion in. Golf cart community.

  • Deflated0ne@lemmy.worldEnglish
    661·
    15 hours ago

    “When you get paid this amount, we just can’t give it to anybody,”

    That’s why. Shitheads want the labor. But they don’t want to pay a fair wage to everyone. Not even for hot dangerous work like this. Ever seen a video of an accident at a steel mill? It’s horrific death and disfigurement. Might get your feet burned off. Might get caught under some 2000 degree steel and cook to death. And these bastards don’t want to pay for that risk.

    • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world
      27·
      15 hours ago

      According to the article it is more due to people commuting from outside the city and county for mill jobs. So the money is earned there but not spent there so no new businesses can start to support these mill workers.

      • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
        18·
        11 hours ago

        The normalization of long commuting has been such a disservice to society for many reasons. I guess you can add this one to the list.

      • Maeve@kbin.earth
        4·
        11 hours ago

        Reporters don’t report everything and editors nix plenty of what they do. I knew a reporter back in the day who saw horrific things but half of what they wrote was cut, and that’s when journalistic integrity still existed, somewhat. For that reason, and some personal reasons, they were a very troubled soul. May they rest in peace.

  • EnderLaw@lemmy.world
    20·
    13 hours ago

    The land is cheap. The cost of living is comparatively low. The river and railroads are nearby. Regulations are low or nonexistent. People are grateful for the work.

    Mills like these used to employ thousands of people. Now they only need a few hundred.

    • Ameripol@lemmy.world
      12·
      12 hours ago

      I’ve worked for a Steel Company in that part of Arkansas before. In my experience what drove companies to move there were:

      • Lax environmental regulations
      • Access to the Mississippi river for raw materials
      • Cheap electricity from local coal and gas plants
      • Anti Union state and local governments
      • Tax incentives from the state and local governments

      Wages weren’t really bad from what I remember. Many jobs starting at $80k, with good production bonus incentives. Though the work was often very physical with long working hours.

        • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com
          7·
          11 hours ago

          Desperate laborers

          This is also why the right wing is so upset about falling fertility rates. Have more babies future desperate laborers. And of course current laborers become more desperate when they have more mouths to feed.

        • Zahille7@lemmy.world
          2·
          11 hours ago

          I’ve been to Arkansas many times as I live just across the state line.

          There’s fucking nothing in the entire goddamn state, even in the state capital Little Rock. It’s gorgeous land, they don’t call it “The Natural State” for nothing, and I’ve found some cool shops when I’ve gone looking; but there’s just no infrastructure of any kind aside from decent roads.