BABBI PAYS OFF WORKERS; NAFTA HURTS CLOTHING MAKER.Byline: Enrique Enrique (IPA [en'ɾike]) is the Spanish form of the name Henry. As a given name, it ranked 298 out of 1219 for males of all ages in the 1990 U.S. Census. Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Dozens of people collected their final paychecks Friday Friday: see Sabbath; week. Friday young Indian rescued by Crusoe and kept as servant and companion. [Br. Lit.: Robinson Crusoe] See : Servant from a clothing manufacturer that all but closed last week, a victim of high operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales and the North American Free Trade Agreement North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. , said company officials. Former employees of Babbi Casuals Co. quietly lined up at 3:30 p.m. by a van parked in front of the shop in the 13200 block of Weidner Street, waiting for the last checks they would ever see from the company where many had worked for the better part of their adult lives. Many said they had little or no warning. Others said they learned about the impending im·pend intr.v. im·pend·ed, im·pend·ing, im·pends 1. To be about to occur: Her retirement is impending. 2. closure only after forcing a meeting with management about two weeks ago. They had begun suspecting something was wrong as, over the few days before the end, one section of the company after another went dark and employees were told not to return the next day. ``I spent my youth here so that they could give me a kick,'' said Baudelia Nery, 44, who had worked at Babbi Casuals for 22 years. Both Babbi and Richard's Sportswear - which make jeans and other clothing for major labels and occupied the same building - closed their doors last week after a failed merger attempt, leaving several hundred people without work. A Richard's executive said that company closed Friday and let go about 100 people to move its operations to Mexico Mexico, city, Mexico Mexico or Mexico City, Span. Ciudad de México (Méjico), city (1990 pop. 8,236,960; 1991 met. area est. 20,899,000), central Mexico, capital and largest city of Mexico. . About 90 Babbi employees were let go Aug. 28, company Vice President Daniel Araya said. Employees were notified about 10 days before the layoffs, he said. Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose district includes Pacoima, said the Federal Economic Dislocation dislocation, displacement of a body part, usually a bone. When a bone is dislocated, the ends of opposing bones are usually forced out of connection with one another. In the process, bruising of tissues and tearing of ligaments may occur. and Worker Adjustment Assistance Act requires employers to notify the city if they plan to lay off 50 or more workers within any 30-day period. Araya said he was not aware of the rule, which does not impose penalties on violators. About 20 people remained on the job Friday, completing projects and cleaning up, he said. ``A couple'' will return Tuesday for some wrap-up work, Araya added. The company in recent years has been hurt by increased wages and material costs, and the cheaper labor available in Mexico to U.S. manufacturers as a result of NAFTA NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world's , he said. ``As soon as NAFTA (began), as soon as Mexico started to get on its feet, we started to suffer,'' Araya said. He also said he has helped place about 40 former Babbi employees at other jobs since the company decided to close about three weeks ago. |
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