The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is...Outsourcing

by truthseeker 24 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  truthseeker

  I received news from an elder I know in another congregation. He told me that things are changing in the way that Bethel is running its operations.

  I was informed that Bethel no longer makes its own ink, but buys it from other companies.

  Even in the Bethel kitchens, there is no more Watchtower chicken - meat is bought from outside, this I believe also goes for milk and dairy products too.

  Can anyone confirm this? I have reason to believe it is probably true.

  I wonder what would happen if the WT suppliers go out of business? Not having the means or will to produce their own raw materials could render the bi-monthly issues of the WT and AW to monthly issues.
• 

  badboy

  Should one deluge the suppliers with letters about silentlambs etc etc
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  blondie

  I know they have been shutting down the farm operations. If it costs less to buy it even with free labor to produce it, the WTS is buying it on the outside. "Free" labor still has to be housed and fed. That is why it is called "Wallkill" now and not "The Farm." Try calling it "the farm" and you will be corrected.

  Blondie
• 

  Nosferatu

  there is no more Watchtower chicken

  Sure there is! Any JW who refuses to answer questions for the media is a Watchtower Chicken.

  Not having the means or will to produce their own raw materials could render the bi-monthly issues of the WT and AW to monthly issues.

  Now THAT would be interesting! They'd get rid of all the filler crap and just have Watchtower Study articles.
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  blondie

  Actually, the WTS has never produced their own paper let alone ink. That has a bigger potential of stopping the printing than not making their own ink. The WTS used to stockpile paper on the off chance that there might be strikes at the paper mills or a huge price hike.

  The WTS has never been self-sufficient. That is just an urban legend they pushed for the rank and file.

  I can remember one JW couple talking about the "organic" food at Bethel. I had to tell them the sad news was that the WTS used pesticides and fertilizer, that there was no miracle growth and destruction of the insects on the WT farm properties.

  Blondie
• 

  Alana

  Blondie,

  Well, I don't know about the paper, but they DID make (or at least mix) their own ink at one time. My ex-husband was an "inkie" at Bethel in the early 80's. I just called him to make sure and he said that they did....and how it took forever after leaving Bethel to get all the last remnants of the ink off his hands, under his nails, etc. :-)

  "Alana"
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  blondie

  Alana, yes, I knew they made their own ink. I saw it being made on several occasions. I was just being facetious about the paper. The WTS never has made their own paper. But the spiel is that the WTS is self-sufficient; that is a bunch of hooey.

  If the WTS can buy it cheaper, they do. It is getting more expensive to maintain the "free" labor force at Bethel. They are cutting back on staff. I understand that the videotapes and CDs/DVDs are outsourced. That is why the WT-CD 2001 was about a year late coming out. The outsourcer made a boo-boo.

  Money is the bottom line; it proves that the WTS is publishing company not a preaching company.

  Blondie

  Edited to add: Alana, I re-read my previous comment and I worded it incorrectly. So I understand your comment now. Brain and fingers don't always work in unity.
• 

  Elsewhere

  It's very sad when an organization is so inefficient that it is less expensive for them to BUY products than to make them on their own using slave labor.
• 

  Badger

  Blondie:

  Spot on as always

  I made the habit of rattling off a bunch of little facts like these when I talk to active witnesses who don't know I'm fading (as opposed to just lazy, which is what they think). I've found that little things like the outsourcing/end of self-sufficiency are a good way to get under their skin and point out to them how things have changed and never were great to begin with. Odd, but it's more effective than a dcotrinal debate in most cases.
• 

  NewYork44M

  We took some friends on a Bethel factory tour last fall, around October. They had just discontinued the ink making the week before we arrived. The sis who gave us the tour showed us around where they used to make the ink and gave use the update of how much they used to make and why the discontinued the project. So, I can confirm that rumor.

  They discontinued the 'farm' several years ago. I believe that is common knowledge.