ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (AP) — A textile mill where labor organizers claimed the first major union victory in the South, an effort that inspired the 1979 movie "Norma Rae," is closing this summer.
WestPoint Stevens Inc. said Friday that to stay efficient in a global economy, it would have to close its towel-making complex in Roanoke Rapids and lay off 320 workers.
"If there was ever an icon of that industry, this was it," said Harris Raynor of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Technical Employees.
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At least 150 such textile plants have closed in the Carolinas in the last five years, ending thousands of jobs.