The Employees of Malden Mills

Malden Mills

Employees

Employee reactions to Feuerstein

Workers Turn on Feuerstein

After the fire

Employee History

Malden Mills Fire

Connection to Modern Companies Today

Feuerstein's reaction towards his employees

• Competitors gained ground with lower labor costs
• Lack of funding and increasing debt = failed reconstruction plan
• Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001

• Donald Croteau- "Mr. Feuerstein did a good thing for a lot of people"
• Michael Charest- "I want to say how much I miss working for him and he was the greatest man I have ever had the honor to work for. Thank you Aaron for all that you did for us through those hard times"
• Mike Milnes- "Feuerstein is like Santa Claus"

• Mill statement suit for 2.8 million dollars to go towards compensation benefits.
• Sued for "serious and willful misconduct"
• Workers who were injured in the fire settled to sue Feuerstein for $18.5 million dollars.

“workers are not just a pair of hands, they make a difference in the product. If you want to beat the competition with a better product, you must do it with quality, and quality is impossible unless you have the allegiance of the workers.”

December 11th, 1995 - flames erupted from Mill

24 injured, 13 severely burned, 9 in critical condition

Community devastated-> Mills = main employment source for Lawrence

Unethical treatment of workers in a successful company has certainly occurred over the years, especially with the manufacturing of goods in China. There are many successful companies such as Nike and Apple, that manufacture in China. While these companies are very successful, they rely on sweatshops in China, where excessive overtime is routine, and where badly performing workers, are often humiliated in front of their coworkers. When manufacturing of the first ipad started, workers were forced to work 13 days in a row, without a single day off. While these companies are highly successful leaders, their practices have proved to be highly unethical.

• A majority of the employees were from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico
• Malden Mills employeed 3,100 people
• Employees earned between thirteen and fifteen dollars an hour

"The fundamental difference is that I consider our workers an asset, not an expense"

Feuerstein declined the opportunity to give up the careers of his employees to machines capable of doing the same tasks

Upon arriving to the scene of the fire Feuersteins first reaction was, "Did our people get everybody out? Were they all alive?"

Following the fire, Feuerstein was relentless with his program created to aid employees who were purchasing their first home

The End of Malden?

Effects of the Fire on Employees

Benefits of the decision

Advantages to

Feuerstein's Approach

Malden Mills response to the fire

Before the fire

• Increased employee-employer loyalty
• Reduced turnover rates
• Avoidance of economic instability
• High level of involvement in the community: citizenship

• Several men suffered from third degree burns expanding across over half of their bodies
• "One man had his ears burned off and his eyes ravaged in the fire resulting in three corneal transplants"
• The skin of a worker not only burned, but melted off, causing white flesh to be exposed
• Injuries left all the victims suffering through surgery after surgery and some in coma for prolonged periods
• "Burned faces had to be re-shaped; charred bodies and fingers had to be remolded
• The severity of these injuries even caused their children to be apprehensive of approaching them

The pursuit of ethics, allowed Feuerstein the advantage of publicity. He was featured in many news networks and in People magazine. He was even mentioned in president Clinton's 1996 state of Union address. Aaron viewed his workers as an "asset and not an expense" Aaron also certainly had a lot of strength as a person, to stand up against what was viewed, as "normal management" techniques.

All 3,100 employees received:

• Regular salaries 90 days
• Health benefits for 90 days
• Received a $275 Christmas bonus

- Polartec LLC bought Malden Mills in 2007

- 2015 Polartec LLc announced relocation to Hudson, N.H & Tennessee

- Estimated 300 jobs may be lost

-Polartec LLC claims the move is caused by, "global marketing pressures, customer needs, and an overlarge facility in Lawrence"

- Lawrence union working to reverse Polartec LLc's decision

- Otherwise, Polartec LLc plans to move within the next few years

• 1993- six workers were injured in a factory accident
• 1994- OSHA reported Malden Mills due to employees working in the Flock division being exposed to "the hazard of being burned from fire and/or explosion"
• Between the years of 1990 and 1993, 61 incidents were cited
• Employees had to breathe through the protective layers of respirators because the air was full of "flock dust"