Death by a Thousand Cuts; Racine Struggles to Build a New Foundation for Jobs, Growth Atop the Remnants of Its Old Manufacturing Economy

Summary

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Racine When Chris James wears down from working 14-hour days, six or seven days a week for little or no pay, he sometimes can't stop the anger from washing over him.

"When I'm sore, tired and broke, it comes back, but I try not to think about it anymore," James says. "I want to move forward, stay positive, rather than dwelling on what they have taken from me and my (union) brothers and sisters."

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Death by a Thousand Cuts; Racine Struggles to Build a New Foundation for Jobs, Growth Atop the Remnants of Its Old Manufacturing Economy

James, 28, was making $18 an hour and had good health insurance benefits while working as an A-level die-cast technician at Intermet Corp. After 6 1/2 years, James lost his job April 15. Two months later, Intermet Corp., based in Troy, Mich., closed its die-casting plant and machine shop in Sturtevant, leaving 603 people out of work. Intermet is just one in a long list of companies that have moved away from Racine and its surrounding communities, or simply closed.

The city of Racine has had the highest annual unemployment rate in the state for the past 11 years. And Racine County had th...

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