Located a little over two hours due east of Dallas, toward the border with Louisiana and a world away from the bustle of New York—or Wuhan—Lone Star is a pocket of rural Texas that’s so far managed mostly to avoid the Covid-19 outbreak. According to state data, just one case had been reported in all of Morris County as of April 7. The town, though, which has a population of about 1,700, isn’t doing as great a job of escaping the impact of a U.S. economy tumbling into what threatens to be the deepest recession in generations.
Faced with declining orders and no clear idea of when things might change, United States Steel Corp. informed state authorities on March 23 that it plans to shut down its mill in Lone Star in May, putting many, if not all, of the 600 employees out of work. The facility turns out steel pipe for an oil industry that’s retrenching in response to a sudden collapse in crude prices.
“Anytime something like this comes up— people down here rely so much on oil price and the market— everybody gets scared,” says Trey “Tiny” Green, the 6-foot-9-inch, 315-pound president of United Steelworkers Local 4134, which represents hourly employees at the plant. “We’re in the infancy of trying to console and talk to our members on what the future will bring.” If there is any consolation to be had, it may be that the steelworkers of Lone Star aren’t alone in the U.S. in 2020 in confronting a daunting downturn and uncertain future. Across the nation, what President Trump had been hyping as a “blue-collar boom” going into November’s election is quickly turning into a blue-collar bust.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 13, 2020-Ausgabe von Bloomberg Businessweek.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 13, 2020-Ausgabe von Bloomberg Businessweek.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers