..and the world is about to turn...

The tune of 'Star of County Down' runs through my head this morning, with the lyrics from Voices United: "and the world is about to turn."

Against the exciting hope for change in Empire with the election of Barack Obama, came the news that 195 jobs in our local mill will end in two weeks.

Domtar's press release came at the end of the day--as usual, ensuring that the local newspaper, a weekly, had gone to press before they could add the story. The glib and unconcerned voice of Domtar's vice-president, interviewed in Montreal by CBC radio, sickened me. His stats are friends and husbands of friends. They are the parents of children who are already struggling to find their places in the world.

These workers deserved better than to hear that their jobs would end in two weeks. They deserved better than to hear it on the radio or from a friend calling to ask what was going on.
And our community will deserve better than to hear 'oh well, at least the pulp is still operational".