camillus bankrupt?

acwire_2125 said:
Well, you guys may just want to buy one before the company really declares bankrupt.
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I dunno, man. I already had the same idea. I've been trying to get a couple of pilot survival knives, but they seem to be out of stock everywhere. If things don't improve, I suspect it's just gonna get worse.
 
I wouldn't count them down and out too soon. If you like Camillus knives, and you think the folks at Camillus deserve a chance to keep going, then buy a Camillus knife from a primary source, not a flea market, eBay, or pawn shop.

I am from an area of the country where open shops are the rule, so I have my own opinion of unions such as the one striking Camillus. I'll reserve that opinion except to say that the workers are strangling the cash cow they depend upon. To strike and picket a company which already has financial woes is not a good idea. I wish both the company and the workers the best, and hope Camillus does not go the way of Schrade.

On the bright side (if there is one in a situation such as this), Camillus is small enough to be a doable investment for a larger company to buy, reorganize, and reinvigorate.

Codger
 
According to the article they've been on a four day work week since January, so it sounds like it's been slow for a while. Unfortunately a strike just makes it worse for the company.

I agree that we as americans have decided our own fate, it's just that many people haven't realized it yet.
 
Ordered a bk2 campanion recieved a bk2 box bk2 sheath bk10 in box! returned it replacement arrives bk2 box bk2 sheath bk10 in box!!! called again and the company owner has checked his stock and all were the same! He called camillus and explained the situation and they are supposed to be shipping out the correct knives to him today and when he recieves them he will notify me to return this one again. How could the employs at camillus make such an obvious mistake? the knives do not resemble the other at all.I guess this was done because they knew they were going on strike so what the heck! The company i bought it from said the knives were so similar that they didnt catch the mistake, But since they arent really similar at all i know the camillus employs should have caught this ignorant mishap! And while i am on the subject of the strike i'll throw in my two pennies worth. My opinions of unions are this, the union guy's can drive around in their mercedes all day and never give a darn about the laborers that put them in it! They are bad for companies workers and the economy! In a free country we should all take care of ourselves! We have enough federal laws now that unions are not even required anyway.
 
i think it goes "united we bargain, divided we beg" so unions help the workers wages across the board. and the threat of the union keeps employers
treating people fairly. united the workers have power. with power, comes
responsibility. unions were formed because the employers were not acting responsibly to the workers. unions also act irresponsibly to the bosses.
the auto workers, the teachers union, are just two instances where the unions voted themselves excesses that has ruined the product.
unions and union bosses are a necessary evil. please let's use some
better than common scense, when voting to keep jobs in america. just 'cause you can doesn't mean you should. $0.02
 
Uh, I don't think a 30+ year machine mechanic making 11/hr is over paid. mis-Management is the place to start. There are people salivating over this to get the camillus name, not to get a 50 year old inefficient knife works that works at less than 70% due to irrepairable machinery. Who ever buys the place other than the employees is sure to close the plant and just finish the job the current management started, to import all the knives.

Spyderco, Kershaw, Cold Steel, Colt, Buck, Gerber, the list goes on an on of companies that Camillus did work for, Where the hell are they now that the little guy is going down? Well they want management out of the pic too after most of them getting a screw job from the Camillus management team. Things are bad enough that Camillus was down to COD on steel.
 
ulua said:
i think it goes "united we bargain, divided we beg" so unions help the workers wages across the board. and the threat of the union keeps employers
treating people fairly. united the workers have power. with power, comes
responsibility. unions were formed because the employers were not acting responsibly to the workers. unions also act irresponsibly to the bosses.
the auto workers, the teachers union, are just two instances where the unions voted themselves excesses that has ruined the product.
unions and union bosses are a necessary evil. please let's use some
better than common scense, when voting to keep jobs in america. just 'cause you can doesn't mean you should. $0.02
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This is not a flame, but just my opinion. Please don't flame me, but I will be happy to read other opinions.

It is my opinion that labor unions were needed back in the day when the government didn't keep people from making their workers work for dirt wages and 80 hour weeks. Those days are gone... Today, the only purpose for labor unions is to line the pockets of the union steward, and provide the ability for high seniority members to claim the right to work when, how, and where they want and only as fast as they care to. Labor unions are directly responsible (in my opinion) for the automakers( ie gm) moving their plants south of the border, and companies like proctor silex doing the same thing. For example, why in the hell was the average pay and benefits for a uaw worker pre gm plant closure $68.00 an hour ( over $40.00 an hour in wages plus the rest in bennies) They wouldnt make concessions so now gm pays brazilians a few dollars a day to do the same jobs, and dumps benzene and toluene in ponds around their plant because they can. I am not going to post about this again, and all of the numbers and conditions related to the gm plant/uaw segment can be substantiated with a little research on the web. This is just my opinion, and I respect the opinions of others on this subject. I was just airing myself out :D
 
bigbcustom said:
This is not a flame, but just my opinion. Please don't flame me, but I will be happy to read other opinions.

It is my opinion that labor unions were needed back in the day when the government didn't keep people from making their workers work for dirt wages and 80 hour weeks. Those days are gone... Today, the only purpose for labor unions is to line the pockets of the union steward, and provide the ability for high seniority members to claim the right to work when, how, and where they want and only as fast as they care to. Labor unions are directly responsible (in my opinion) for the automakers( ie gm) moving their plants south of the border, and companies like proctor silex doing the same thing. For example, why in the hell was the average pay and benefits for a uaw worker pre gm plant closure $68.00 an hour ( over $40.00 an hour in wages plus the rest in bennies) They wouldnt make concessions so now gm pays brazilians a few dollars a day to do the same jobs, and dumps benzene and toluene in ponds around their plant because they can. I am not going to post about this again, and all of the numbers and conditions related to the gm plant/uaw segment can be substantiated with a little research on the web. This is just my opinion, and I respect the opinions of others on this subject. I was just airing myself out :D
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Very Well Stated!
 
Companies pay workers based on the prosperty of the company.

Unfortunately, due to foreign competition, American wages are dropping because the foreign companies have such cheap labor.

At the same time, health insurance costs are suddenly going WAY up and that really screws things up because companies now have to cut their long-time and loyal worker's health insurance and these large cuts now come out of that worker's pocket while he's getting other cuts in his paycheck.

No wonder they are going on strike.

Unions are good for America, but the Unions can't function in this kind of atmosphere.....it's hopeless.
 
Rocinante said:
Companies pay workers based on the prosperty of the company.
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I wish that were always true, too many instances where it isn't anymore...


The Chinese will eventually catch us in quality. We sell them our machinery (the Japanese and Europeans do the same), and they implement our quality systems to make the same products that we make or used to make. Given enough time and experience, they will catch us. At the same time we will lose our own expertise as the variety of manufacuring jobs here diminish. Not sure what the answer is, how to keep manufacturing jobs here and make them profitable, but we definately need to do something.

In the meantime, looks like I better order that #67 stockman, Marlin Spike, and a few electricians knives that I've been craving...
 
thoughtful discourse gentlemen...i'm impressed, but not surprised,
comming from this forum. thank you
 
First of all, thank you everyone for your comments and genuine concerns about Camillus and the workers here. There have been some very interesting and intelligent statements made and most are right on the money. At this point, nobody here knows what is going to happen. We are getting a lot of local support and appreciate that. As I said in another thread, this is a very complex issue. This is something that has been coming for quite some time. Of course, the general consensus is this is due to poor management and, to a good degree, it is true. However, there is plenty of blame to go around. Until management and the union decide to sit down and actually "negotiate", there will be no end to the strike. I'll try to keep everyone updated as news happpens but things don't look good. Keep us in your thoughts and thank you.
 
and in our prayers too. Over the past few years, in connection with my ongoing research of the Imperial Schrade Corporation, I have been in touch with and come to know some of the former workers from Schrade, master cutlers and designers who did the collaborations, and the principals of other ongoing cutlery companies. I know the angst you are going through from their perspectives, as well as my own when my job as an automobile manufacturing process engineer went overseas. I know first hand the two year odysey those good people have traveled, and what it has taken to put lives back together after the loss of a lifetime career, some of them as stated here, for three generations life revolved around the 'Works". Yes, in our thoughts and in our prayers.

Codger
 
Well no one from Camillus seemed to ever check this forum before the strike, so I wouldn't hold may breath waiting to hear anything.
 
The dynamics of the many industries is changing due to international competition and the global market. Those who make the necessary adjustments survive and even prosper. I know there is a small(but growing) contigent of wealthy overseas Chinese that buy high quality custom U.S. made knives. This contrasts with a large number of Western customers that buy cheap Chinese knives - this trend will not stop.

Camillus needs to find their market niche, and satisfy their customers needs and wants. As several forum members noted, Camillus participation on the forum has not been satisfactory in the past- that's not building customer satisfaction and loyalty. I own several Camillus products that I believe are high quality and unique. I hope the company will continue.
 
ejt said:
IMHO they are showing a symptom of the US economy. Nobody will pay what it costs to make a knife in teh US when they can get the same knife, with the same materials, from overseas for half the price. (OK, some would, but the greatest portion of the buying public wouldn't. Go look in the knife case at Walmart & count the "made in china" items.) If they cannot sell their items at what it costs to make them in the US, then they have 2 options - make them overseas, or make them in teh US for something near what it costs to make them in China. This is a classic symptom of people in the US not making any conscious connection between their buying decisions, and the health of their economy. But that's another rant for another time....
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I think its the perfect time for this rant.
 
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