Last night, I landed on an old TV treat of mine: Out of Ireland. Each week, Out of Ireland showcases the latest news from Ireland and I like watching it to reminisce about my five years living in Belfast. The news stories are usually filled with names of politicians I vaguely remember and places that I think I might have visited (some memories are blurry – this is the land of Guinness, after all.) Last night’s show had a piece about Fruit of the Loom closing their factory in Buncrana, Donegal. It really hit home because I’d been to that factory and I’ve met those people.

It was around 1996 and I was living in Belfast. I was hired by a small TV production company to work on an industrial video showcasing the brand new Fruit of the Loom plant in Buncrana. Our crew of about six people spent three days filming practically every inch of that factory. It was the latest in high tech cotton production and all the management were very eager to show it off. Spinning, dyeing, stitching and packaging were all done by the 3500 locals employed at the massive factory.

Believe it or not, I still have several pieces of clothing manufactured by the good people of Buncrana (they’re now totally falling apart, but in that male tradition, I’m reluctant to throw them out.)

Check out these labels as proof:

For three days we lived in Buncrana and talked to many of the workers as we filmed them. In the evening, we’d head to the local pub and met the very same people we’d filmed earlier that day. Even off site and out of the watchful eyes of management, the Fruit of the Loom employees had nothing but praise for their employer. Many young people worked in the factory and were quick to admit that a job in the factory was the only reason to stay in Buncrana. But they were happy to be working there. They were treated fairly, paid well and able to stay in the town they loved.

During my whole time in Buncrana, I couldn’t shake the feeling that all this seemed unreal. It’s a sad fact that much of the manufacturing of things is not done in the West (for lack of a better term.) I’d seen the Michael Moore films, witnessed out sourcing of the the auto industry here in Canada and down in the States, and I knew what was down the road for the people in Buncrana. But the pride of the management, the investment in the factory and the incredible productivity of the workers was enough to silence the nagging doubt in my mind and probably the minds of others too.

And now the inevitable is happening. Ireland is finally becoming a victim of that perpetual race to the bottom, where country’s fight each other for the love of corporations, at the cost of their workers’ quality of life. Today, Fruit of the Loom is moving to Morocco and there are surely many very happy Moroccans eager to start work. It’ll suit FoL for the time being, keep their bottom line profitable for a while. When a new, cheaper labour forces catches the eyes of management,the whole process will begin again and it’ll be the people of Morocco who are left jobless, wondering what to do and where to go.

I can’t offer the people of Buncrana any solutions, or provide any answers. I can only write this post as a testament to their dedication to a job and a company they thought would be around for a little bit longer.