Vol. 1, No. 4 |
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Work... Work... Work... by Anne Fulcher Work is defined as exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil. The Graniteville, Vaucluse, Warrenville communities have seen many hard working individuals in their histories. Work in the year 2015 does not resemble the days of William Gregg and the Graniteville Mill. According to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, the Graniteville Historic District consists of the Graniteville Canal, which dates to 1846; the original 2 & ½ story Graniteville Mill constructed of locally quarried granite and completed in 1849; twenty-six original workers’ houses in Early Gothic Revival style, most of whose exteriors are virtually unaltered; nine other units of early mill housing; the 1847 Graniteville Academy where operatives children were educated at company expense; and the Early Gothic Revival St. John’s Methodist Church, designed by Charleston architect E.B. White and completed in 1849. Most of these structures were either constructed by William Gregg or under his close supervision, and many still retain much of their original architectural vitality. While building the mill, Gregg supervised construction of a company town, thus bringing into
existence the first typical southern mill village. By providing cheap housing, free schools, churches, and stores and by maintaining personal supervision over the morals and everyday lives of his operatives, Gregg established a pattern that would be emulated by scores of cotton mill owners throughout the region. Listed in the National Register June 2, 1978; Designated a National Historic Landmark June 2, 1978. Today’s workers do not have the luxury of having an employer that builds schools for the worker’s children, a shopping center for the family to have easy access to, or homes for the employee and their families to live in. In addition to these absences, there are many Federal Government Regulations that protect the employee AND the employer. Most recently, with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, workers who worked thirty hours a week or more were deemed eligible for Health Insurance Benefits if the employer had more than one hundred employees. Yes, this law has caused many organizations to restructure their business plan to accommodate the new law. One of the most controversial current labor-related topics is the so-called “right to work” laws. Depending on who you ask, these right to work laws
have been passed to protect the right of workers to not be forced into union membership. Conversely, these laws were enacted to help businesses pay less for labor by impeding unions’ ability to organize and provide the better benefits and pay that almost always accompany union jobs. Either way, these laws mean jobs can’t require union membership as part of working anywhere in the states that have passed them. South Carolina adopted the so-called “right to work” statute in 1954. Therefore, these aren’t new laws to South Carolina meaning many South Carolinas may be unfamiliar with the benefits and drawbacks of labor union membership. South Carolina’s mean hourly pay in May 2013 was $14.56, in comparison to $16.87 for the entire country. And now there are child labor laws that were not in existence in the era of William Gregg. Currently in South Carolina rules and regulations on child labor are identical to those adopted by the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. These rules limit the work hours of persons 14 and 15 years old and prohibit the employment of persons under 18 years of age in occupations determined to be hazardous. There are exemptions to these rules when it comes to families that own farms and
have their children working with them as long as the children are not in harm’s way. It is wonderful to see new companies coming to the GVW area bringing with them many jobs for members of the community and surrounding areas. Thanks to Bridgestone Aiken County Plant, Recleim and MTU, just to name a few, that have already established deep roots in our town and to the new industries that are being courted to come to our quaint villages. It is thrilling to see these new organizations desire to assist growth and redevelopment in an area that once were homes to some of the most thriving organizations in the world. Keep your eyes and ears open, each and every day another company CEO sets their sites on this area known for the warm climate, even warmer people, and employees with a work ethic like no other. The people in the GVW areas were raised by generations of hard working, loyal employees and we carry on those work ethics that were instill in us as children. Now’s the time to show the new businesses coming into town how happy we are to have them. We can work side by side with these new employers to make our Graniteville, Vaucluse and Warrenville area a better place to live.