Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 28, 1994 TAG: 9402280038
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA LENGTH: Medium
The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard took on another, unwanted distinction in 1991. It was the first such yard targeted for closure by a post-Cold War federal commission.
The decision stunned 7,000 workers, most of whom had never worked anywhere else. It also enraged state, city and union leaders who on Wednesday will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
"Philadelphians are a special breed. . . . They have a reputation of being a bunch of macho tough guys," said Terry Powell, a machinist at the yard. "But this devastated them. Behind closed doors, they were crying like babies over this."
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., will try to convince the Supreme Court that it has the authority to review military base closings.
The yard's supporters say that they don't challenge the "substantive merits" of the closure decision. Rather, they "seek only to invoke the historic role of the federal judiciary to `check and balance' a runaway bureaucracy."
The city, discouraged by three years without resolution while the military continues to scale back, is preparing for life without the shipyard. The closing will mean the loss of an estimated $326 million in direct income, as well as $113 million in annual state and local tax revenue and $93 million in one-time unemployment costs, according to a report prepared for the city.
And it threatens the livelihood of what the city estimates are 20,000 people from Philadelphia and New Jersey who work for dozens of small suppliers.
by CNB