By ARABELLA SERRATA
editor@sbnewspaper.com
For many years, the Levi’s factory in San Benito was the largest private employer in the city. It officially closed in 2002, but the bonds and memories made by the many employees who passed through the factory’s doors remain.
To foster those bonds, former employees have spearheaded the Levi’s Roundup, inviting past Levi’s factory employees to reunite on Aug. 25.
Today, as most people in San Benito know, the one-time factory serves as the Cameron County Annex Building, located at 1390 W Expressway 83, San Benito, but it once was bustling with employees proudly constructing iconic Levi’s products. In 2002, however, at the time of the closure announcement, the American economy was in a freefall as the housing and Dot Com bubbles collapsed, coupled with the 9-11 terror attacks, resulting in a string of layoffs and mass closures nationwide.
It was stated that the Brownsville and San Benito Levi’s locations held 656 and 483 employees respectively. Massive job cuts were also seen in the company’s San Antonio and El Paso locations. While factories nationwide were relocating overseas and across the border in the wake of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Levi’s itself saw record-high profits that year, according to a story published in the NEWS at the time of the factory’s closing. Despite this, the company still opted to move its manufacturing arm to Mexico.
Levi’s began as a clothing brand dedicated to the hardworking people around its founder, Levi Strauss. The clothing company eventually became the “uniform of progress,” according to the company’s website. Strauss was a German immigrant who created the original vision for what became blue jeans when he combined tough denim with copper reinforcements when working with Javob Davis.
Today, San Benito is the site of annual employee reunions surrounding the brand.
The fourth annual Levi’s Roundup is slated for Sunday, Aug. 25 from 5-10 p.m. The event features a dinner, desserts, cash bar, door prizes and a D.J. The admission fee is $25, and will be held at Cabo Bar and Grill, 2301 Business Hwy 77, San Benito.
Currently, an organizational lunch meeting is set for 1 p.m. Sat., July 27 at Vicki’s Restaurant in San Benito. At the time of this article, organizers say that they are in need of someone to be in charge of t-shirt distribution, money collection, and order taking.
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