Emerson’s public donation hides the real problem in Ferguson

Emerson Electric (Headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri) generated $25 billion in sales in the past year and is projected to have over $3.5 billion in cash on hand, next year.  Their recent corporate donation of $4.4 million to fund scholarships and job training in the Ferguson area is very admirable, but that donation will also serve as a quick fix for a nightmarish public relations problem and of course, the donation is tax deductible.

Considering the circumstances, I’m confident that there were some very high-level meetings recently at Emerson’s headquarters and it was decided to attack the “Ferguson problem”, with a generous donation.  Again, I believe that was a noble gesture, but it doesn’t begin to address what the real problem for Ferguson and its’ surrounding cities really is.  Namely, a lack of good paying manufacturing jobs for people who are willing to work hard and provide for their families.  Minimum wage jobs and social assistance programs have never revived any cities that I’m aware of.  None.  Ferguson was built primarily from the success of nearby manufacturing plants like McDonnell-Douglas (Boeing) Ford, GM and Emerson itself.  It was those companies’ movements elsewhere and their downsizing that have decimated Ferguson. 

In today’s world, stockholder pressure and senior executive profit incentives, force companies to ignore the communities that helped to build their company in the first place.  Companies are now run by accountants who are constantly searching the world for the cheapest labor and lowest taxes available, to show higher profits on a short-term basis.  Investors and executives demand it.

 

Consequently, some simple research on Emerson’s own Web Site reveals that the company operates more than 150 manufacturing plants outside of the United States.  Sure, many of those plants may have existed previously through Emerson’s worldwide acquisitions, but the question remains, how many new plants are planned to be built in the United States?  Or, better yet, in Ferguson?  How many?

Ferguson’s demise directly correlates with the demise of the middle class in America and more specifically, North St. Louis County.  Corporate profits are at an all-time high, but workers’ wages have actually dropped when you figure inflation into the equation.  If things need to change and we all know they do, why not start in Ferguson?  It has the focus of the world on it right now and Emerson is a worldwide company.  Emerson, please build a plant in Ferguson.  Build a big one.  Be an example to the thousands of corporations who forgot where their roots were and become a pioneer in helping to rebuild the American Middle-Class.  

 

Steve Erdelen