I want to extend my most heartfelt sympathy to the families of our loyal workers whose lives have been terribly disrupted by the events of the last few days. When the dust has settled on this unfortunate episode I guarantee that everyone that can be hired and wants to return to work will have a job at Michael Bianco Inc.

With so many untruthful statements being made about me, my family and my company, I hardly know where to begin to respond. But I urge you to withhold judgment until all of the facts come out and these accusations can be confronted in a less chaotic environment and in the proper forum.

In the meantime, I want to tell you a few things you haven’t heard about Michael Bianco Inc. The comments about working conditions and treatment of workers are simply untrue. We have operated our factories since 1985 with no complaints about cleanliness, working conditions and treatment of workers. We have always paid our workers the state-mandated minimum wage or above and offered employer-matched healthcare benefits, paid holidays and vacations, and other benefits.

Our products are in great demand for our wartime soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US government relies on us to provide high quality survival gear in a timely fashion under strict deadlines and high quality control. Federal officials, including military and Dept. of Defense officials have toured our facilities many times and have always found them to be satisfactory. Furthermore, a Dept. of Defense quality control inspector has been present and on-site up to four days a week at our current factory since 2004 and has freely and frequently walked the premises and interacted with our workers without incident or complaint.

Michael Bianco Inc. is a homegrown firm that has experienced tremendous growth in a very short time. After losing a lot of business from US brands of leather goods who took their business overseas, we began to compete for large government contracts. In fact, when we received our first government contract in 2004 we considered relocating the company out of a concern for being unable to meet the labor demands. But state and local officials asked to tour our facility and then decided to initiate efforts to meet our workforce needs by helping to procure employees. With the aid and encouragement of local officials we were able to remain in New Bedford and continue to grow our business and contribute to the local economy.

We have many dedicated customers and employees who at the appropriate time will speak very highly of who we are and the way we operate.