boycott vise grip/irwin tools!

[jps4jeep]

All good things come to an end. Vise-Grip/ Irwin tools is shutting down an assembly plant in the USA and moving to CHINA. Here is the article. I won't be buying any Irwin tools anymore. Money hungry big business telling the consumers it's to keep the cost of the tools down. Sounds like BS to me.
Newsroom

 

[TerryMason]

I don't know anything about this specific situation, but I think that as consumers, we share some of the blame. Every time I go to Walmart, or Harbor Freight, I'm telling the manufacturer that the most important thing to me is price, and I don't care where / how it's made.

So, what's the new tool maker of choice? Are Dewalt or Craftsman still made in the US?

 

[southtj]

Craftsman is and so is Porter Cable. Here is a list of American made tools.

 

[larrymo49]

I agree with Terry...I would love to buy ONLY American products...but I would have to be in a much higher tax bracket to do that.

American labor cost is the culprit. When workers here demand top dollar wages for their manufactured goods and services (typically union led) then those costs must be passed on to the consumer for most companies to stay in business....so instead of fighting the union bosses many businesses get their labor done outside of the U.S.

When Sam Walton started Walmart (and for many years after) he told his buyers to give American products first shot in his stores...on the condition that they could compete with overseas made goods in price and quality...Well, we were more than able to compete with quality , but labor costs here kept creeping up and up...and...well..this is where we are today.

And companies like Walmart can be so successful because they are able to buy cheaply in huge volume as well as get cheaper goods overseas.

Economics is scary sometimes....:shock:

Larry

 

[jps4jeep]

NO... Nafta is the culprit (Thanks Clinton) I would rather save extra money, buy american products when I can. I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for, so Quality = Cost.

 

[PretorDepot]

Economics is just how we study and understand what's happening. I personally try my best to buy american when I can, but half the time I buy something I later discover it was made somewhere else. The mighty dollar and how far I can stretch it dictates where I send it for the most part. Thanks for posting the link with which companies are american made. I'll be sure to hit those up.

 

[993guy]

American labor cost is the culprit. When workers here demand top dollar wages for their manufactured goods and services (typically union led) then those costs must be passed on to the consumer for most companies to stay in business....so instead of fighting the union bosses many businesses get their labor done outside of the U.S.

When Sam Walton started Walmart (and for many years after) he told his buyers to give American products first shot in his stores...on the condition that they could compete with overseas made goods in price and quality...Well, we were more than able to compete with quality , but labor costs here kept creeping up and up...and...well..this is where we are today.

And companies like Walmart can be so successful because they are able to buy cheaply in huge volume as well as get cheaper goods overseas.

Economics is scary sometimes....:shock:

Larry

Unbelievable! The movie title "Clueless" comes to mind.

This is NOT about Unions or American Labor, NAFTA, Clinton or WalMart! It is about corporate executives and their bonuses and greed!

The only reason the Irwin plant was closed down in Nebraska and moved to China was because the execs. of the company were not getting high enough year-end bonuses. These greedy corporate jerks would rather see Americans loose their jobs than to see their bonuses be reduced.

I have relatives that are former employees in the plant and the head plant exec. was dumb enough to actually admit that the reason the plant was closing was because his bonus was not big enough! They should have used some Vice Grips on him!

When will the American public wake up and start blaming the people who are the reason why we are in this economic depression. Corporate big business, the ultra rich and their Political puppets! If you still believe in the "trickle-down theory" you need to to take an economics class. It has never worked and never will.

"NAFTA" has nothing to do with CHINA or any other Non North American Country. NAFTA is an acronym that stands for the North American Free Trade Agreement. It is a trade agreement made between the United States, Canada and Mexico that removed trade barriers for goods and services across their borders.

The United States, Canada and Mexico signed off on NAFTA in December of 1992 on the condition that each country's respective legislature approved the agreement. Originally, the agreement was drafted between President Bush (senior), Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Canada's Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney.
The actual ratification of the agreement in the United States did not occur until November 20, 1993, under the Clinton Administration. The Republicans passed NAFTA in the Congress, approved the NAFTA agreement and Clinton signed it.

Clinton should have told the REPUBS. to "stuff it", because we all knew it was about the rich getting richer!

 

[larrymo49]

Class warfare, Marxism, Socialism, Communism, Progressivism, Liberalism, etal have never ever worked and only led to complete domination by a few elite, and oppression of the masses.

"Clueless"? Read a history book that has not been revised by the clowns above for a change.

The free market will always right itself if the control freaks above will just get the heck out of the way. No bail-outs, and corrupt companies should be allowed to fail...just like the rest of us...and corrupt union leaders should be exposed and prosecuted along with any other illegal business activity...including corrupt CEO's

Just saying...don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

 

[flatie46]

I really hate to hear this, I'm a maintenance man at the factory I work at and I buy alot of tools. I buy only American made tools, so the boycott works for me. I try to buy American made as much as I can. I wished the country would start a big movement about buying American, like they have about "Going Green". If more people joined in I think the prices could go down. It's something that we all need to work tword one way or anthor. The company I work for has factorys all over the world including china. The factorys there send us product to be checked in out in our quality control. The QC guys and management tell us it's all junk and they spend so much on warranty work they're about to pull out over there. I'm sorry to hear this for the people who work there and their familys.

I hope this don't turn into a political argument. I'm sure opinions will all differ and it's easy to get mad about the government. Trust me, I'm very vocal when it comes to such matters but not here. I don't come here to get worked up and ****ed off.

 

[Gennybro]

Time to take the jeep to the woods,where every things there is american made. We are gonna have to bite the bullet and suffer,sacrifice and pull togeather to get this country productive. In my opinion, darn we are in a helluva mess.
My self, from this point forward,If its not american made.I'm Not gonna buy it.gotta get a slave cylinder and clutch for the jeep American made ,oh boy is this gonna hurt,but that is what we have to do.

Ps: I bought a set of crafts men wrenches 30 years ago , thinking that they was made in usa,got them home and on the back was made in china.

 

[Gennybro]

The unions dont do us any favors,based on the time I had worked in the machinest union. I had worked in the lathe department of this large company,one day I had to get a tool bit sharpened. I went to the tool room to get it sharpened and no one was there,so I proceeded to do it myself. Anouther employee happened to come in and informed me I wasn't allowed to do that because it wasn't on my job description. So I ended up waiting for 45 minutes,till someone that worked in the tool room came in and sharpened it.
This was something that would have taken me just a couple of minutes to do myself. It's little bull---- like this that all adds up into a mountain of bull that puts a hurten on us.

 

[mud4feet]

...........It is about.....greed!

That pretty much says it all. And if we're going to point fingers we also need to look in the mirror.

 

[carnuck]

Another part of it is the EPA is driving businesses that use anything metal (especially platers) out of the country with mega fines.

 

[54cj3b]

China huh now they'll be built just like the wanna bee's like crap
Looks like I better treat my real ones a bit better and make them last and just use the throw a ways with my welding projects

 

[TerryMason]

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[54cj3b]

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LMAO:lol: