Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board So one day

I was one of them union folks, you know hands drag on the ground and complaining about everything to avoid doing any real work to get back at the company for only giving us 13 days off a year and 30 days paid vacation,health /dental/optical/retirement. And was active in several of those strikes .You know where the worthless unions folk try to shut down the projects or factories and demand stuff. So after one of the strikes I was talking to the Union boss and said you know I was able to stay out of jail because on the inside my management buddies would tell me where the police were going the next day .Then I said I had found out more from the Company than I had from the Union, Then I said maybe we need a new Union and that came to pass .
It wasn't much of a deal to get a new Union for around 8000 people, why we even had those longshoremen people come down and talk with us but they seemed to be a little to much Union for some of the more gentle folks.


So today I learned about those folks sitting around wall street and other places around the country , I thought maybe we could see where the clothes were made, the water bottles and the tents and all that outdoor stuff and start our own little test to not buy products made in other Countries. I know all the big name companies would agree if we just sort of ask that they bring production back to America. They just want to produce the best gear. I don't think we should ask they hire those union folks for a while, that just gets them nervous.But we could ask about the old style co ops .And then the small mom and pop stores could buy American made products . I don't want to bring up the topic and then sell for a fair price that like the union stuff just gets those big companies in a tizzy, sort of hints that the free market system just doesn't return enough profit as the price leadership model, as you may have noticed the last several years as your buying dollar decreased the profit for some major companies went up! Now how could that be? But I have heard many young people don't like Unions and maybe they also think things are just fine the way they are so just never mind . Thanks Doug

Doug Nice Post! I never thought much of my hiking poles and ice axe made in Taiwan. I'm in supply chain and Taiwan actually in most cases does a better job at MFG than the US especially in Electronics! However when I recently purchased Black Diamond CAMS 1-4 and they were made in China I amost had a heart attack. If you know how outsourcing works and you know the processes of Chinese plants seriously I am worried. Frank and I are only buying Friends and Met's now. I called BD and they gave me the run around that thye have American workers in China and they still do 100% testing. I know allot of BD fans here will give me crap for saying this but this is what I do for a living. No way did they outsource to China for Quality they outsourced to save money. You cannot save allot of money having American Workers in China. You save money by training migrant workers that came from the farms and moved to the big cities you train them for a few months then they build CAMS that we are hanging on, trusting our lives with!!
I'm with you Doug Co-ops! Made in USA
I know Stacy's Husband to be will back me up on this!!!!! Right
Curt!

Yeti

Made in America

My old man’s...that old man
Spent his life livin’ off the land,
Dirty hands, and a clean soul.
Breaks his heart seein’ foreign cars,
Filled with fuel that isn’t ours
And wearin’ cotton he didn’t grow

He’s got the red, white, and blue flyin’ high on the farm.
"Semper Fi" tattooed on his left arm
Spends a little more
At the store
For a tag in the back that says "USA."
Won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix,
With WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench.
He ain’t prejudice he’s just...Made in America

Loves his wife, she’s that wife
That decorates on the 4th of July
But says, “Every day’s Independence Day”
She’s Golden Rule, teaches school,
Some folks say it isn’t cool,
but she says the Pledge of Allegiance anyway.

He’s got the red, white, and blue flyin’ high on the farm.
"Semper Fi" tattooed on his left arm
Spends a little more
At the store
For a tag in the back that says "USA."
Won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix,
With WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench.
He ain’t prejudice he’s just...Made in America

Born in the heartland,
Raised up a family
Of King James and uncle Sam

He’s got the red, white, and blue flyin’ high on the farm.
"Semper Fi" tattooed on his left arm
Spends a little more
At the store
For a tag in the back that says "USA."
Won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix,
With WD-40 and a Craftsman wrench.
He ain’t prejudice he’s just...Made in America

Made in America
Made in America

My old man’s that old man,
He’s made in America

America!

nice Post@!!!

Does my Toyota Made in Ohio count? Answer below!

Here’s Why The Tundra Wins By Default
1. ALL Tundras are built in the USA. Since 2007, the Tundra has had 75% or more domestic content (80% in 2010). Every Tundra has either been built in Texas or Princeton, Indiana since the model debuted in 2000…the F150, GM trucks, and Ram have all been built in Mexico at one point or another over the last 10 years.

Yeti

Jeff, he's nodding his head in agreement!!!!

crap, does this mean i have to take my new iphone back?

FYI: Metolius cams are "hand built, inspected and individually proof tested in Bend, Oregon."

Unfortunately, almost your entire house would be cleaned out! This is a problem that has gone on way too long and there is really no way to stop it.

We have a lot of power in our wallets, but for some reason we don't use it.

Some stuff is still made in the USA:

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/sportinggoods.html

I don't see New Balance on the list, but I believe their sneakers are made in the USA.

Only some of them. They have a few factories left in the USA, but 75% of their sneakers are made elsewhere (mostly in China, I think). As a rule of thumb, if the sticker price is less than $100, it's made overseas.

Too bad they're not making most of the NB shoes in the USA.

REI has a link at the bottom of their main website page that brings up all the gear made in the USA:

http://www.rei.com/category/1/q/Made+in+the+USA

From the top of Mt. Baldy October 14, 2011

hmm - other than my Gregory Denali and Camelbak hydration packs, no other packs sold at REI are made in the US any longer.

and when you drill down to tents, none come up...

Some random thoughts on this string, in no particular order:

I have been spending a lot of time at Occupy Los Angeles, although I go home to my warm bed at night. (I only live 3 blocks from LA City Hall.) I have been volunteering with the kitchen committee, helping to feed the occupiers.

A book that has had a big impact on the Occupy movement all around the country is "No Logo," by Melanie Klein (available in paperback; be sure to get the 10th Anniversary Edition). It's a good analysis of outsourcing and manipulation of the culture by corporations and politicians.

The companies are good at manipulating our desire to not be manipulated. Pabst Blue Ribbon is a great example of that. They use people's desire to be "authentic" and "blue collar" as their advertising tool. The beer is an afterthought. In fact, Pabst doesn't even make beer anymore. It's made by Miller. All Pabst does is marketing.

I have been in 2 unions, the Machinists and the Steelworkers. One was lousy and corrupt, one was pretty good. In any case, one local of a union can be OK and another bad. A union has to cooperate with management or else spend every day out on strike, and then the members don't get paid. The only "pure" union was the IWW. It was great but it didn't get the improvements in working conditions, pay, and benefits that the "establishment" unions did.

Two cents from an old man.
BurtW

Its getting to be a smaller world, so you'll probably never get away from products that have some foreign-made parts. An interesting example in wingding's link is the bicycles; Co-Motion, Lysnesky, and Litespeed all make frames here in the USA, but the components on the assembled bikes are made overseas (and a lot are from China, in whole or in part). Shimano and SRAM both assemble high-end parts in Taiwan, but they source parts from China.

Better idea might be to consider the countries products are made in, and try to buy stuff made in countries with fair political conditions (democratic or totalitarian?), fair trading practices, independent legal system, and fair working conditions. Places to consider are Western Europe, some mid & eastern Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore. You won't always get away from totalitarian influences (my bicycle parts example), but you'll be sending a message through the supply chain with your purchases.

My wife and I have made it a habit now to TRY and buy USA made products but you what? Try to find them. I have flown a flag since 9-11 and have to drive all over the place to find a USA flag not MADE IN CHINA! I find it at one place and figure that the next time I need a flag they will have them there so I go back and they have flags but are now made in China. I even saw a product that said HECHO in CHINA!
We keep our spending dollars in our town and don't support the big box stores so we are honestly trying our best.
BTW, if China wanted back the money the US owes them, we would be broker than we are.

My artwork is all designed, molded, cast and finished in the U.S.A. Believe it or not, many artists are going to China and Mexico to produce their art. I can't compete with China prices, but at least my money is staying here.

Wow,beautiful,quality,great craftsmanship and artistry.Love the frogs!You need to make one of those frogs as your avatar.


I saw garlic from China in the supermarket-hell,no.

Mr. quillan sir,
I believe you about going to Mexico or China, hell, our whole country is selling out! Kudos to you amigo....for that,
I'll take 1/2 dozen turtles and 2 dozen frogs!
Your work is alright with me, and I ain't an artsy kinda guy.
You have my respect hombre!
Hu

Cost of Livin'

To my 8 coworkers who got laid off.

To the thousands out there effected by the "China Syndrome" (Made in China) or the "Southern Exposure" (Heche en Mexico) (out-sourcing or whatever you call it).

I am lucky...but how long can my luck hold out?

(BTW, there's a $4.00 version)

Everything to know about me
Is written on this page.
The number you can reach me
My Social and my age.
Yes, I served in the Army.
It’s where I learned to shoot.
Eighteen months in the desert,
Pourin’ sand out of my boots.
No, I’ve never been convicted of a crime
I could start this job at any time.

I got a strong back
Steel toes.
I rarely call in sick.
A good truck.
What I don’t know,
I catch on real quick.
I work weekends
If I have to
Nights and holidays
Give you 40.
And then some,
Whatever it takes.
Three dollars and change at the pump...
Cost of livin’s high and goin’ up.

I put Robert down as a reference.
He's known me all my life.
We attend the same church.
He introduced me to my wife.
Gave my last job everything,
Before it headed south.
Took the shoes off of my children's feet,
The food out of their mouths.
Yesterday, my folks offered to help
But they’re barely getting by themselves.

I got a strong back.
Steel toes.
I rarely call in sick.
A good truck.
What I don’t know,
I catch on real quick.
I work weekends
If I have to,
Nights and holidays.
Give you 40,
And then some.
Whatever it takes.
Three dollars and change at the pump...
Cost of livin’s high and goin’ up.

I'm sure a hundred others have applied.
Rumor has it you're only takin' five.

I got a strong back.
Steel toes.
I'm handy with a wrench.
There's nothing I can't drive.
Nothing I can't fix.
I work sun-up to sun-down.
Ain't too proud to sweep the floors.
Bank has started calling.
And the wolves are at my door.
Three dollars and change at the pump...
Cost of livin’s high and goin’ up.