L’Observateur / July 24, 1999

The most welcome news this week was the announcement by Kaiser that they intend to rebuild and restore their facility near Gramercy, with the aim of having it back up to full production in 18 months. At the same time,new negotiation sessions were announced with the intention of ending the Kaiser strike, now nearly 10 months old.

Kaiser, while hardly the largest employer in the River Parishes, nevertheless is vital to the economy of St. James Parish in general and theGramercy/Lutcher area in particular. Its continued presence supportssmaller business in those towns and the payroll likewise rolls over again and again in the area.

Schools, drainage, waterworks, sewerage treatment and roads are but some of the many areas where tax money is spent. Loss of a significantportion of tax revenue affects all those areas of public concern.

The fallout which would affect St. James Parish would be considerable,should Kaiser decide to close its doors forever. School attendance wouldplummet. Vacant houses from former residences would boost crime amongthose left behind. Businesses would fail. Future economic developmentefforts would be made more difficult Therefore, it is with the utmost hope that Kaiser follows through with their intention and rebuilds their Gramercy facility and, likewise, follows through with negotiations to end the 10-month-old strike.

In the first hours and days after the explosion, one widely-heard comment was complimentary of the union membership, for contributing to their community by helping their neighbors recover. It demonstrated that Kaiserfostered the notion of neighbors helping neighbors and employed people who lived with that notion.

At the same time, the company worked toward settling claims and assisting in cleanup throughout the area. This showed Kaiser in the lightof being a good corporate neighbor.

We hope for a speedy conclusion of the strike, to the mutual satisfaction of the people concerned. This will have the effect of boosting the localeconomy, raising the community spirit and breathing new life into the region.

Talks are due to begin next month toward settling the strike. With atimely conclusion, those workers could lend their knowledge and experience toward assisting in Kaiser’s recovery.

Outside of the obvious economic benefits of a restored Kaiser Aluminum plant would be the restoration of hope for a brighter tomorrow among the neighbors of the Kaiser facility.

The company was fortunate there was no loss of life from the explosion.

However, only the plant’s restoration will help the community heal at last.

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

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