JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Southeast Missouri is suffering.
In February, when the Noranda aluminum smelter in New Madrid closed, it sent shockwaves through the state, but the biggest impact occurred in and around the bootheel. Nearly 900 people will lose their jobs as a result of its bankruptcy.
For Rep. Tila Hubrecht, R-Dexter, that quake was just one in a line of ongoing tremors that shook the region. The International Hat Factory, the Brown Shoe Company, Nordyne, the list continues. Hubrecht sees the impact those closures have on not just her community now, but also the lasting impact the lack of economic investment is having on the region.
“There’s so many empty factories, and I think that gets discouraging,” Hubrecht said. “There are a lot of parents, like myself, who have grown, young adult children, who are concerned our kids are going to have to move away and that we’re not going to have the grandbabies close. And that’s a big deal.”
However, Hubrecht is trying to do something about it.
She has been working with economic development groups, including the Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission, and local chambers of commerce to facilitate individual former employees to find employment in the region. Some people have taken up small businesses, and Hubrecht has also pointed people towards Three Rivers College which has provided jobs and skills training, like welding, green diesel mechanics, and precision agriculture classes. All of those skills are in high demand in Southeast Missouri, says Hubrecht. She even uses social media to post job listings and keep people informed about potential new opportunities.
“A lot of people have asked me to share on my Facebook page any job openings I see,” she said.
Unfortunately, Hubrecht also senses a general feeling of anxiety in her district as jobs continue to leave the state.
On the policy side of things, Hubrecht has supported the bill offered by Rep. Rocky Miller, R-Osage Beach, that would allow aluminum smelters to set rates with power companies. However, one issue she keeps hearing, especially in Southeast Missouri, deals with ‘right to work’ states like Tennessee and Arkansas winning companies over.
Hubrecht says companies are offered packages by the community, even told they would be offered to not pay utilities for a certain time period. Towns and cities like Dexter, Dudley and others in the area go out of their way to bring in companies, but they still choose to go elsewhere because other states are ‘right to work.’
The representative insists that she is not anti-union, but says “that is just what I hear back from these companies that came to our area when they report back to the economic development authorities.”
Still, there are signs of life in the region. The W.W. Wood Products Company, known for its cabinets and doors, is expanding its operation, and some of those empty factories are starting to be vacated again. While Hubrecht notes the area has been scarred, she still says there are reasons to be hopeful.
