paper mill in Canton, North Carolina is closing after 120 years, and this closure — which will result in massive amounts of working people losing their jobs — is unexpected, resulting from mismanagement, abuse, and other issues going on behind the scenes.
Given that Canton is her hometown and her father was a worker at the paper mill, Callie Pruett of the Appodlachia podcast has been on the scene, closely following and reporting on the closure, and she joined The Valley Labor Report earlier this month to share an insider perspective on the controversial situation.
“This is such an issue close to my heart, near and dear,” Pruett expressed on the air. “The Canton paper mill is operated by Pactiv Evergreen, it has been since 2007. And the mill has been the centerpiece of the town, what keeps it alive, for nearly 120 years. And it’s the employer of over 1,000 union workers in the area.”
As the “centerpiece” of Canton, NC, the closure of this paper mill will have devastating consequences, not just on individual people who will now be numbered among the nation’s jobless, but also on the health and stability of the community as a whole, which has depended on the mill for well over a century. David Francis, the Economic Development Director of Haywood County, where Canton is located, has been working around the clock to project just how big of a blow this will be to the region, which Pruett was able to elaborate on.
“[Pactiv Evergreen] is saying ‘the payroll is only $140 million a year, it’s not going to be that big of an impact,’” Pruett said. “We know that’s not true. The ripple effect is estimated to be closer to $500 million, in a rural area of the country that already has suffered so much in the last couple of years.”
It is estimated that over a fifth of Canton’s residents were employed at the mill. “And that doesn’t include their families, their spouses who work at the elementary schools or the bank or the hospital,” Pruett continued.
“The community is certainly devastated at this moment. I think that it’s a time of crisis.”
Watch the full interview with Callie Pruett for more information on the huge consequences this closure will have on the community, as well as what led to the closure in the first place:
Joe Harrison is graphic designer and video producer for The Valley Labor Report, as well as an orchestral composer. Having a long history with self-centered, manipulative, and abusive employers, he joined TVLR in November 2021 in an effort to raise awareness of worker struggles and the severe imbalance of power in the workplace and the nation as a whole.
