After Ruth Crisco was laid off from Pillowtex on July 30, 2003 she went from making $19 an hour to being forced to accept a job that paid $9.50.
Charlie Morris lost his job, as well, and without the ability to read or write found it hard to adjust to the new globalizing economy. His litany of illnesses ending with a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease two months ago has crippled his family financially.
Thelma Honeycutt worked at the mill for more than 52 years when she was laid off. She remembers the family atmosphere that permeated through the building and the backbreaking work that bonded workers together.
These are only a handful of the 4,800 workers in North Carolina who lost their jobs five years ago when Pillowtex shut it doors for good. These are the stories of Kannapolis, and it was these stories that drove reporters Josh Lanier, Ben McNeely and Eric Deines and photographer James Nix to find more.
The team interviewed more than 50 former employees, officials and Kannapolis residents about the rise and fall of textiles in the city, documenting the current struggles of former mill workers and the origins of the North Carolina Research Campus.
For more than three months, reporters poured through mill and government documents and uncovered the vast network of workers that still live in Kannapolis. It was one of the largest undertakings ever orchestrated by the Independent Tribune.
Former workers and city officials sat down for a three-part online video series to speak about the history and effects of the mill culture and the legacy of the former plant. Reporters also contacted several former Pillowtex executives, who declined our repeated requests for an interview on the decisions leading to the collapse of one of the South’s largest mills.
Most employees were excited to speak about their experience. Others asked to talk off the record, and some wished not to be involved.
Contributors
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Jonathan Coleman |
Eric Deines |
Josh Lanier |
Ben McNeely |
James Nix |
Jessica Norman |
Mark Stein |
