Shoe plant gives big holiday bonuses

[leftward]

PITTSFIELD, Maine (AP) — Workers at a shoe plant were feeling more than a little tickled when they got their Christmas bonuses that, for some, totaled nearly $20,000.
Instead of receiving typical end-of-year frozen turkeys, the 200 employees of the SAS Shoemakers plant here were handed envelopes when they were called together Friday afternoon.

When Lawrence Wyman opened his, he found a check for $19,000. His wife, Charlene, got a check for the same amount.

The company this year awarded its employees with bonuses of $1,000 for every year worked at the company. Even those who had worked less than a year got $500 each.

The bonuses were particularly uplifting given that most news in the manufacturing sector this year has been about plants closing and employees being laid off.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-12-15-shoe-bonus_x.htm

[JPace]

1. Bet the boss is not a repug....

nice to see for some there will be a
Santa Claus this year!

[Warpy]

6. He might be a pubbie

The New England GOP really is still the party of Lincoln, minus the tax whiners in New Hampshire and Connecticut. That the party has been hijacked by the rich and the sanctimoniously stupid in the rest of the country hasn't really sunk in yet.

[bleedingheart]

13. I like that quote of yours...

"tax whiners"...hahahaha

[Born_a_Democrat]

2. Holy HOT FOOT Batman

Baby's gonna get many new pairs of shoes now...

[Lorien]

3. The compant is SAS shoemakers

I don't know what kind of shoes they make, but they deserve our support! :-)

[Ernesto]

5. YES we need to know.

The only thing that I can think of is: "Defense Contracter". Why wouldn't USA Today mention the product line?...... I smell fish.

[Ernesto]

16. Ouch!

Wrong again: cynical me.

[Rainbowreflect]

9. They make great, comfortable shoes.

A little pricy, but if this is what they do with the money I'm glad I bought a couple pair last year.

[KC]

10. They

sure do make comfortable shoes.
They are great if you have to be on your feet all day !
Definitely worth the money.

KC

[SlavesandBulldozers]

4. wowowow

I knew I should have majored in cobbling. Seriously though, what a great company, who has the right idea for both civic duty and advertisement.

[Heddi]

7. Wow. An actually NICE thing to read

I think this is one of the first uplifting things I've read in a long time.

Way to go SAS shoes!

[ACK]

8. Ok this is cool... not all employers are a**holes

My grandfather ran two businesses and he was a lifetime Democrat.

Not all business owners are pricks.

This is great news for those people in the trenches.

Good for them.

[Chico Man]

11. Maine: The way life should be..

Isn't that the truth!!

[bobthedrummer]

12. A lot of nurses wear SAS, waitresses too

they're great shoes. Nice sharing of the wealth based on seniority.

[MaineDem]

14. I heard this over the weekend

I think it's inspiring to hear of employers who would do this.

I'm only concerned that they all have jobs at this time next year. With the way manufacturing in Maine, and the shoe industry in particular, has been closing factories, I hope this is one company that can remain strong.

[davidinalameda]

15. bravo

where can you buy those shoes

that is a business that deserves to be patronized and supported for doing the right thing

[Melsky]

17. I think they only make women's shoes

you can get them at department stores. They don't seem to have a website that I could find.

Good news about shoes! It's about time we got a little good financial news.

[KayLaw]

19. My mom took me...

to one of there stores in an outlet mall and bought me a pair of loafers. It was an interesting store. They served popcorn and gave me a box of chocolate truffles with my shoes.

[SharonAnn]

20. Good shoe retailers, good shoe catalogues, check the web

for retail shoe sales. They have hard to find sizes (I know) and I first found them here by "Googling". i had a place to get them in Ohio but when I moved, I had to look for stores here and ended up using the Internet to buy them instead.

[SharonAnn]

18. That's great. They make wonderful shoes, I buy them a lot.

I also like the fact that they last almost forever, they're so well made.

Just like good American made shoes have always been. Good leather, good last, good sewing, good value. Not the cheapest, but the best.

I'm glad for them - it's the quality of their work that makes the shoes so good and worth buying.

[loudnclear]

21. How long before the "other shoe drops?" "Wwe are going out of business"

I sure hope not and I hope the receipients enjoy a wonderful holiday.
I am just so synical thanks to this administration, it's difficult to accept "good news" at face value.