To the editor:

I read with interest Stuart Allspach’s letter to the editor, “Look no futher than Maytag to see why income has fallen.” Really? I sincerely hope you’re speaking of upper management with your statement. After five years, it still amazes me that anyone would blame the laborers.

We had absolutely no control over sales, advertising, or business decisions. The entire closing of Maytag was a controlled failure and if you worked there, you could clearly see it. They wouldn’t advertise our products, fazed out our top sellers, and cut quality on everything. Many people (company and union) saw the writing on the wall, and there was nothing we could do about it.