The End of an Enterprise

You’d think the clothier for a new, popular President would be enjoying good business. But no; Hartmarx, the company that makes Hart Schaffner Marx suits, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 23, just two days after President Obama wore a custom-made suit, topcoat and tuxedo by Hart Schaffner Marx for inauguration festivities.

Hartmarx filed for bankruptcy shortly after Wells Fargo refused to extend credit. Last year, Wells Fargo received $25 billion in Troubled Assets Relief Program funds, but it is still having its own problems and wants to liquidate Hartmarx. According to the Washington Post’s Harold Meyerson, the liquidation of Hartmarx would not only eliminate 4,000 jobs; it would be the end of “the last major high-end men’s clothing manufacturer in America.” Hartmarx is seeking court approval to continue operating.

Three companies are bidding on Hartmarx, only one of which is likely to keep the company mostly intact. That is London-based Emerisque, which has a successful track record of revitalizing brands. The other bidding companies are thought to be more likely to liquidate.

Congressman Phil Hare (D-IL) once worked in the Hart Schaffner Marx cutting room. “We have the most productive work force in the world, but we don’t make things anymore.” he told Harold Myerson. “There has to be room in America for people who work with their hands for a living.”

Chrysler’s bankruptcy is bigger news, of course, and Chrysler is almost certain to survive. But Hart Schaffner and Marx has been making suits for 122 years. That ought to count for something.

Why can’t America support at least one high-end suit manufacturer? Harold Meyerson points out that the more successful Armani makes its high-quality suits entirely in Europe, which has higher labor costs than the U.S. Armani is in better shape because it is better at marketing, Meyerson says.

Even so, labor costs often are cited by conservatives as The Reason the Automakers and Other Manufacturers Failed. The “solution” is to bust unions, slash benefits and pensions, and relax environmental and workplace safety regulations. In other words, workers have to be sacrificed for manufacturing in America to survive. I wish the politicians would think really, really hard and come up with other options.

Is it too much to ask that the American economy provide jobs that pay a living wage, provide a safe working environment, and don’t turn their communities into toxic waste dumps? Will the experiences of Libby, Montana and countless mesothelioma sufferers be repeated? Or, if manufacturing dies, will we become a nation of hamburger-flippers?

Barbara O’Brien
May 1, 2009

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