The mill was founded by his great-grandfather in 1902. We know we are going to lose. We are going to lose jobs. Chapman's mill produces fabric that goes into everything from furniture upholstery to khaki pants. He and many of his workers say if Congress votes to normalize trade relations with China, the U.S. will be flooded with cheap Chinese fabric imports, making it hard to compete.
Many workers here are mill veterans.
May's colleague, Linda Simmons, is a 24-year Inman veteran. I'm a single parent, so I have only one income coming in, and if this place was to close down, I'm sure I'd have to be like everybody else. I'd have to be out there trying to find a job. But in the complex calculus of international trade, many others believe the China trade deal will make them winners. In and around New York's Kennedy Airport, there's much talk that the China agreement will open access to that country's huge market, and that will add up to more goods shipped, more demand for workers on the loading dock, and more money to be made for cargo companies and middle men.