Surviving Job Loss: Papermakers in Maine and Minnesota

Surviving Job Loss: Papermakers in Maine and Minnesota

“…Among the job losers downsized from Sartell, 63 percent perceived that their job loss was bad for them and also bad for their families, while 76 percent of the terminated Sartell respondents said their job loss was bad for them and for their families. The positive response to job loss from the Bucksport respondents was much higher than that of job losers in earlier studies (Adams, Kessel, and Maher 1990;Kessel and Maher 1991;Little 1976;Root and Mayland 1978;Root and Park 2009;Root, Root, and Sundin 2007).…”

“…However, Root and Park (2009) found that 54 percent of older displaced armament workers reported no change in their physical health, while 22 percent attributed some health problems to job loss and 24 percent replied their health had improved since becoming jobless. But when it came to their mental or emotional health, the displaced armament workers responded quite differently: only 35 percent reported no change in their mental health, 39 percent reported mental or emotional health problems, and 25 percent reported improved emotional health.…”

“…A government report titled "The Employment Problems of Older Workers" (USDOL 1971, p. 2) states, "Although age 65 is considered the beginning of old age for many purposes, the older worker generally is defined as those workers aged 45 or older." While several job loss researchers use age 45 as their boundary for "older" (Parnes, Gagen, and King 1981;Pursell and Torrence 1978;Root and Park 2009), others (Newman 1995;Rones and Herz 1992) go with 40 years of age, and Portis and Suys (1970) use 50. The cutoff points for age categories do make a difference, as Tables 3.4 and 3.5 illustrate.…”

“…"Then, regarding your family and the Verso downsizing/shutdown, would you say the job loss was generally good for your family or generally bad for your family?" These questions are based on the question created by Little (1976), but used by others, including Adams, Kessel, and Maher (1990); Kessel and Maher (1991); Root and Mayland (1978); Root and Park (2009);and Root, Root, and Sundin (2007). While the percentages of "good" responses or positive comments about job loss vary from 39 to 48 percent in the previously reported studies, the time frame of when the question is asked is crucial.…”

“…Many of them are fearful of going into an academic environment after decades of absence. Thus, many women, like many men that Root and Park (2009) interviewed in their study of dislocated defense workers, were glad to get out of high school and into a job at a mill or factory, where there was often a family tradition of going into this work.…”