Sometimes I’m reminded of the anonymity of jobs on the bottom of the wage and respect scale. A few years ago I was folding and putting away a clean brown paper bag that had held groceries or a loaf of bread from one of our local bakeries, and I found a name printed on the bottom of it: Wigberto Serpa. Even in nations of hispanohablantes, this is a pretty unusual name. After seeing names, and occasionally dates, printed on the bottoms of a few more bags, I realized that this was done by the manufacturers for quality control, so they could see who was gluing correctly – and doubtless time these poor workers to make sure they were gluing enough bags per minute. Yuck, I thought, that must be a bad enough job without supervisors breathing down your neck about the rapidity of your gluing. On the other hand, it’s an almost daily reminder to me that paper bags don’t simply put themselves together, that a person who’s probably making poverty-level wages is gluing these things after a machine folds them. Here are the other names I’ve recorded from my paper bags in the last couple of years, in chronological order by date of acquisition:
- R. Lopez, Jan. 8, 2021
- D Standafer, Sept. 3, 2020
- M. Heaney, Dec. 18, 2019
- M. Mazur, Aug. 26, 2020
- P. Cochrane, Aug. 1, 2019
- J. Sigua, N. Patton, Hernandez, J. Fort, Z. Cox, Oct. 26, 2018
- E. Gonzalez, July 17, 2015
- M. Sizemore, Dec. 17, 2014
- V. Florentin, Dec. 1, 2014
- A Balverde, Dec. 12, 2014
- Agustin Zavala, Jan. 22, 2015
- Melva L. Galeano, Jan. 14, 2015
- Marie Clervoyant, Dec. 12, 2014
- Rosa Olivia, Nov. 10, 2014
- M Duran, Oct. 29, 2014
- E. Tellez, July 31, 2014
- Nate Enriquez & Sheila Smith, Dec. 5, 2014
- Al DeLaCruz & Fernando Torres, Oct. 23, 2014
- Roger Southard & Joanne Harrison, Oct. 23, 2014
- Rosa Olivia & Danny Diaz, July 11, 2014
- L. Vu, July 31, 2014
- Paul Hornrich & Wayne Bucina, Sept. 8, 2014
- Hechavarria, July 20, 2014
- Francesca Townes, June 22, 2014
- Roberto Vazquez Jr., Nov. 13, 2014; Aug. 28, 2014; June 9, 2014
- A. Butler, Apr. 9, 2014
- Wigberto Serpa (de nuevo!), Aug. 18, 2014; Apr. 15, 2014; July 24, 2013; Feb. 5, 2013; May 18, 2012
- A Sanchez, March 6, 2014
- Antonio Antunes, Jan. 13, 2014
- Ana Cortes, Oct. 1, 2014; March 18, 2014; Dec. 26, 2012
- N Wright, Feb. 24, 2014
- Blanca Guillen, Apr. 30, 2014; Oct. 10, 2013; 2010
- Marleny Roman, Apr. 2, 2014
- Rosa, Apr. 2, 2014
- Pedro Pineda, Jan. 8, 2014
- Evelia Resto, Feb. 6, 2014
- C Diaz, March 14, 2014
- Maria Nolasco, June 25, 2013
- C Cunningham, June 26, 2014; Nov. 5, 2013
- J. Leal, Oct. 10, 2013
- Ana Velezquez, Nov. 27, 2013
- Gloria R, Oct. 4, 2013
- Tara Henyard, Nov. 1, 2013
- Angela Okwei & Enrique Marquez, Nov. 1, 2013
- Junel Revolus, Sept. 25, 2014; Oct. 28, 2013; Aug. 18, 2011
- Juana S, Sept. 25, 2013
- Vanessa Spinazola & Joanne Harrison, Sept. 25, 2013
- Flora Alegria, Aug. 9, 2013
- Miguel Becerra, July 16, 2013
- E. White, Feb. 23, 2014; Aug. 15, 2013
- Walter Gomez, Aug. 11, 2013
- Robert McClain & Bill Anderson, Aug. 28, 2013
- Y. Torres, June 7, 2013
- Darlene Jones & John Woodard, June 28, 2013
- Marie Clervoyant, June 25, 2013
- Dinora Perez, March 16, 2013
- M Romero, March 22, 2013
- Mili Lara, Nov. 10, 2013; March 18, 2013; Dec. 7, 2011; May 11, 2011
- Bonnie Morante, Dec. 1, 2014; Apr. 15, 2013
- Alice Pedro, Aug. 8, 2012
- Jeanns C, Feb. 5, 2013
- Soledad Miranda & Greg Huggins, Apr. 16, 2012
- Teofilo Cerna, July 30, 2012
- Godoi, Nov. 13, 2012
- Jarad Robinson, March 18, 2013; Sept. 18, 2012
- Steven Gioiosa
- Gabe Maldonado & Soledad Miranda, June 3, 2012
- Marleny R, Sept. 10, 2012
- Agustin Zavala & Al Da La Cruz, Sept. 21, 2012
- Thea Eleazer, June 28, 2012
- Myriam Sanchez, June 20, 2012
- A Alonso, April 25, 2012
- Luz Jimenez, March 20, 2012
- Maria Lechuga & Darlene Jones, March 5, 2012
- Hernandez, May 23, 2012
- Evangelina Gomez, June 14, 2012
- Patricio Mesa, July 24, 2012
- Ruperto Acevedo, July 9, 2012
- Maria Araujo, June 20, 2012; March 21, 2012
- Carla Quintero, May 10, 2012; June 24, 2010
- Patricia Jimenez, Dec. 20, 2011
- Alicia Olivares, March 13, 2012
- Iris Lewis, Feb. 28, 2012
- Rashaad Brewer & Joanne Harrison, Dec. 6, 2011
- Sheila Smith & Jose Guerrero, March 13, 2012
- Maria Chumbiray, Aug. 27, Apr. 12, March 17, 2012
- Brenda Nieves
- Jerome Fenelus, Jan. 3, 2012; Aug. 10, 2011
- Ana Velezquez & DuJuan Muhammad
- Fernando Torres & Fernando Garcia, Jan. 20, 2012
- Marlene Alvarez, Dec. 5, 2011
- Veris Davis, Sept. 8, 2011
- M. Rios, July 5, 2012; Nov. 15, 2011
- Robert McClain & Maria Lechuga, Dec. 27, 2011
- G. Caldera, Dec. 14, 2011
- Lizzie Nina, Sept. 7, 2011
- Nancy Brito, Sept. 23, 2011
- M Lugo, Oct. 26, 2011
- Gladis, March 15, 2006
- F. Solorzano, Sept. 25, 2014; Oct. 10, 2011
- James McCoy, Jan. 29, 2013; Oct. 7, 2011
- Maria Colon, Oct. 24, 2013; July 10, 2012; Sept. 9, 2011
- Benjamin Lu, Sept. 6, 2011
- L. Gonzalez, Apr. 23, 2014; Aug. 10, 2011
- C. Proa, Jan. 26, 2012 & May 6, 2011
- Jesus Garcia, Aug. 26, 2014; July 6, 2011
- Andrew Forester, Sept. 26, 2011
- M Reyes, June 9, 2011
- Jose Guerrero, May 13, 2011
- Fernando Torres, Sept. 20, 2011
- Max Znika
- Alma Martinez, July 29, 2011
- Jeanns C. Flores, Feb. 24, 2011
- Maria Figueroa, July 5, 2011
- T Ramos
- Gabe Maldonado & B. Bautista, Oct. 13, 09
- Irma Quiroz, March 20, 2012; June 22, 2011
- J Duarte, Oct. 15, 2010
- T Camea
- Antonia de la Prida, May 4, 2011
- Nayda Rivera, May 16, 2011
- Gilsela Cardoza, Apr. 14, 2014; Dec. 22 & June 6, 2011
- J Michelle A
- Nunez
- Sylvia Barahona, March 9, 2011
- Gladis Fuentes
- Fernando Garcia
- Maritza Molejon
- Vilma Guevara
- Zulma Bermudez
- Ernesto Cruz
- T Juanita
- Gloria F.
- Blanca Salazar
- Luis Colon, Jan. 30, 2010
- Agnieska Bielecka, Aug. 18, 2010
- Jose Rodrigues
- Yanisbel S., Apr. 28, 2010
- Lonnie Newsome, Dec. 29, 2009
- Gloris Corona, Nov. 2, 2009
- Christian Gonzalez, Feb. 16, 2009
- Yanexy Salcines, Jan. 12, 2009
- Andres Zegarra
- Yolanda Williams, Aug. 23, 2013; March 31, 2008
- Jorge Vazquez
- Mark Miller, March 7, 2007
(Yes, I know: I should use my reusable bags much more than I do. But I have memory problems and often forget to bring the bags when I shop.)
The Daily Springbyker 
intense & fascinating.
Thanks for posting on this!
This is part of what makes you such a good writer: not only to notice a small but very human detail such as this but to take the time to acknowledge the place of these otherwise anonymous individuals in your lfe– and by extension, to make us aware of the place of these or similar people in our own lives. One of the hallmarks of capitalism is the increasing diminution of the importance of the individual; if we are to have any chance of overcoming this process it will take individual awakenings– not necessarily dramatic, yet still significant– such as this brief but poignant and compelling essay provided. I will be looking more closely at my own paper bags in the future….
Thank you, Justin! Note to capitalists: I didn’t pay him to write this comment.
I did exactly what you did. I was looking at the paper bag I was folding and noticed that there was writing on it. It was Zulma Bermudez. This person is on your list. The date on the bag is April 11, 2011. I couldn’t figure out what this name was so I put it in Bing and your site popped up. Thanks for the information.
You’re welcome, Ted. I’m glad someone else is looking at the bags, and that Bing led you to my site!
Today I was putting away a bag and noticed the following on the bottom ” Mar 07 14 EL 29 A Evangelina Gomez” and my Bing search lead me to this site – she is on your list with an older date. Evanelina – people do notice and appreciate your work!
Hi my mane is alex and I work for Duro bag manufactoring
A friend of mine (Nestor Montoya) told me about your interesting article witch named many of our co workers, but what I like to comment it’s, that it takes a lot more effort and more people then you think to make your paper bag colection.
Hi Alex,
I’m so glad you wrote! I would love to hear more about what it’s like to work for Duro. Please write more if you have time.
Thank you for this! I was putting a small, brown bag into my reuse pile and saw the name Sylvia Barahona on the bottom and was curious. Date on the bag: Dec 04, ’10.
I also have one marked Crisya Pineda, Jul 16, ’11 and two that read Jesus Garcia, Feb 3, ’11.
Thanks, Duro employees! Nice bags!!
jesus has been in the game for a long time! just got one of his dated 8/26/2014! perfectly glued. nice work Jesus.
Maritza Molejon made the paper bag I bought today.
Christian Gonzalez bag made September 2, 2011, reused today in Maine. Thank you,
Mr. Gonzalez.
Hi,
I found a bag (bagels) made by Blanca Guillen (Nov 18 11, EL 18 C)
Brown paper bag “Duro 12”
Agnieska Bielecka made one of your bags in 2010. She made mine on September 22, 2011. Glad to know she’s still at it!
Maritza Molehon made the bag that held my breakfast this morning. I like the sense of craftrsmynship that even stamping the name brings…
Maria Lechuga made my bag on 11-10-11. But I’m ripping the bag apart to re-use it for an art project for my living room…. 🙂
I have a really nice F. Solorzano here. Glued perfectly. Really nice work!!! Willing to sell…
Very interesting! I have a bag made by Marlene Alvarez on Nov. 23, 2011. I got it at a bakery in Philly last night.
Thank you Maria Figueroa!
Paper beats plastic every time.
I second that! Maria made all the bags currently in my cafe. Thank you Maria!
I can attest to the durability of Maria’s bags.
Maria Figueroa Nov 19, 2012, made two bags i have gotten from a convenience store near where i work. I looked up her name, because I had never seen someone’s name stamped on the bottom of a brown paper bag before, so was curious to know what that meant, especially since it had a date, too. Because of this article, now i know!
GM, I purchased a coconut pastry this morning at a bakery on 6th avenue, New York, NY. My brown bag was sitting on my desk when I realized that at the bottom it had a name printed, my own first name! What a coincidence! Marlene Alvarez, apr 17 12 EL 49 B. Thank you Marlene!
By the way, today I am celebrating my anniversary….. I left Santiago, Chile on June 13th, 1990… destination: New York. It has been 22 years!!! We are living very interesting times! Congratulations to all immigrants that share my anniversary!
Tanya Cheeks, April 29, 2012. Love that one.
I have a duro 12 brown paper bag dated april 16th 2012 yolanda williams. Guess she still works there.
I have a Yolanda Williams dated May 19 09, 3 yrs at duro for her at least! Good job Yolanda! It caught my eye because that’s also my mothers first name!
I got a bag today from Stop & Shop made by Maritza Molejon Jun 18 12.
Went to Mcdonald’s Located on exit 48 off off Sunrise Highway in Long Island NY. Purchased a breakfast meal the contents were securely delivered to me in a bag assembled by Maria Araujo on August 15th 2012. Thank you Maria for your attention to detail and steady hand when crafting this bag otherwise my food may have ended up on the side of my car. As i ate my meal I noticed her name on the bottom of the bag and decided to search the web for her name and low and behold there it was in your list of name. Looks like Duro is the go to manufacture of paper bags.
Thanks to Jon and everyone else using these paper bags for commenting here! I love that we get to see the name of the person who makes a small product that helps us in our daily lives. Yesterday I ended up with another bag made by Wigoberto Serpa!
Thanks, Jesus Garcia. On August 21, 2012, you made the bag that held the bagel and fruit cup I brought with me to work on September 23. I later filled it up with air and popped it behind my co-worker’s head to scare her, and we both laughed really hard. Then I recycled it.
Thanks springbyker for maintaining this list.
– Baltimore, Maryland
I have an Alicia Olivares bag as well but on Nov 08 11. What a wild idea. Mine is a white paper lunch sized bag labeled Duro 5. How do you have bad from the future? Have you updated this article?
Hi! I update the blog every time I obtain a bag with a new name. But I’m trying to start re-using some of the bags I’ve collected, instead of getting new ones, which is wasteful. I have to admit, though, I really love seeing the names — makes me feel connected in a small way to the people who made the bags.
Tanya Cheeks, midtown Manhattan, 23 Oct. 2012
Godoi – February 1, 2012. I like to think that Godoi is an ascetic because the bag is made with such care and precision.
Found this by searching for the name on the bottom of my bag — another Marlene Alvarez classic, Oct. 04 12. Thanks for posting! One question: Any idea what the other letters and numbers mean? (eg. EL 45 B)
I don’t know what those codes mean. I’ll try to find some time on “Thankstaking” weekend to get in touch with one of the workers who’s emailed me, and see if he can tell us. Thanks for reading!
Tanya Cheeks, 9/12/12
Good work! Nice bag!
Thanks for this article. I am in Boston, MA and have a quality bag in my hand from Blanca Salazar – also on your list. Googled the name and “bag” and found a community of likeminded curiosity.
Hi to Boston from Western Mass! Thanks for reading!
i found the name Arely Salgado on the bottom of my duro 12 bulwark paper bag. the date was 12 12 12.
Thanks, Bear oso! And thanks to everyone who comments about their bags on the blog! Lately when I fold up a bag for recycling in my office, I see the maker’s names on the bottom and feel a friendly connection — “Oh, Arely again!” I love how we’re all sustained by each other’s work.
Thank you Tanya Cheeks. 🙂
My falafel lunch from SoomSoom, midtown Manhattan, came in a paper bag stamped Jesus Garcia (Dec 02 12). I never noticed names on bags before & when I googled it I came to this site. Great post.
Thank you, LH!
Thea Eleazer – how could you know that when you made this bag on AUG 08 12 that it would find me in the Mars Supermarket on Rolling Road on FEB 26 13? It passed the test – carrying my chicken soup – with flying colors. Thanks!
I too have been aware of these names and saving the bags. Yolanda Williams, Hola! Lizzie Nina, so good to see you here again! Sometimes there are years of gaps between sightings. All of you deserve to be noticed. I have started making them into collage art. I have a fantasy of visiting Duro and meeting some of these people, somehow incorporating that experience into part of the art. To balance out the excess of the designer bags of the fashion world. Anyhow, I googled Duro to read about the company and saw your blog. Hmmm…now I am even more motivated 🙂
Thanks, Dirndl Skirt! I’m really glad to hear that you’re incorporating the bags in your art — great idea! I liked one of the names so much, I hung part of the bag on my bulletin board at work and have left it there for a couple of years. I hope you get to the factory if you want to visit. I haven’t been on a shop floor since touring several cooperatives businesses in Buenos Aires two years ago. It’s interesting to see all that workers have to do to produce the products we middle-class consumers take for granted, but ultimately the experience made me feel like a gawking tourist. I guess that’s another blog post…
Hi Springbyker~ just wanted to let you know I am finally putting concept into action! At least in the studio. After I get about 2 dozen finished I may try to kick it up to the next ladder rung with a call to their people about visiting a factory:
Hope all’s well in Buenos Aires!
Wow, that is fantastic news! I’m so glad to hear it, and I hope you’re able to do the factory visit.
I’m not quite in Buenos Aires yet, but soon… Which reminds me: my visits to cooperatively run factories there, with other grad students from the University of Massachusetts, were really interesting and eye-opening. That trip partly opened my eyes to the everyday objects we use and made me think about the people who made them. Someone has to create that toothpaste tube, aluminum pie plate, candy wrapper, book, bread…
I have a bag made by Marlene Alvarez from a local bakery in Washington, DC. 1/29/13, so she’s still hard at it. Thanks, Ms. Alvarez!
It’s July 9th, and Jerome Fenelus made the bag we got today at lunch, on Feb 18th, 2013! You have him on your list twice already. Glad to see he’s still doing a good job. Or at least he was until this past Feb.
Hi Kim! Whoops, I guess I need to edit — I try to list additional dates after the makers’ names. It’s always interesting to see how long it takes the shops to use the bags after they’re made — but unlike food, the bags never get stale.
Your quilts on your blog are beautiful! You have a lot of talent!
As I was crumpling-up a bag I got today for my recycling bin, I noticed “Lizzie Nina Feb 27 13” on the bottom. I’m sure it stood out to me because my nieces call me “Aunt Lizzie.” On a whim, I Googled the name and was pleasantly surprised to find your blog post. Very interesting and thoughtful. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Liz! I’ve been looking lately at the bags my co-workers bring into the office and thinking about how many different people I’ve “met” through reading their names on the bags. Thanks for reading!
I got a Wigberto Serpa bag today with one of my delivery orders.
found your post very interesting. I, too, noticed a name & date on a Duro 6 brown bag. It was Evangelina Gomez, June 25, 2013 and she is on your list.
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my bacon egg in cheese came in a bag with the name Gladis Fuentes. the bag is brown and held the sandwich inside really well. there goiod for a sandwich and a drink but if you get two drink youll be pushing it. color is nice and smells like paper. 10/10
I have a bag from a cafe in NYC. Got it on 10/11/2013. It says Marlene Alvarez. Dec 03 12 EL 49 B
Nice egg, cheese, and turkey on toasted whole wheat with hot sauce.
You all are making me hungry! Thanks for reading my blog article!
I have a Carla Quintero Aug 19, 2013. It’s a perfect bag. I want say something to all of the people at Duro who are not mentioned. You all must be doing a fantastic job even if your name is not mentioned here. Everyone is reporting that these are really good bags.
Thanks, Bob! That’s a really good point — I’ve been trying to reuse my bags lately, and they do hold up well. Our local recycling company now is collecting compost in them, too, so after a number of uses, they’re returning to the earth.
I just noticed this as well when I went to pick up holiday pies and saw my bf’s last name “Zegarra” printed on the bottom of one of these bags! Crazy that you wrote this and I could get to the bottom of why it was there!
Hi Cilla B! Thanks for reading — I think you’re the first family/ friend who’s commented. That’s great!
Roberto Vasquez Jr. Oct 14 13
I also uploaded a picture at brown paper project.com . There are over 220 bags in a database there. I like this connection to the bag makers. Thanks.
Nov 20 13
EL 18 C
Blanca Guillen
-On Dec 20th I bought a sandwich from Cozy Soup & Burger (on Broadway at Astor Place, in Manhattan), and received it in a Duro brown bag by Blanca Guillen, and had the code above. Another well-made bag that will be reused. Thanks for blogging about this.
I worked for Durobag many years, and while it was very gratifying to hear all the nice comments, it is important to note that the bags in question are ALL machine made. The operator(s) or CT’s monitor the machines. The machines run at such high speeds all these people can do is grab and pack. They are an extremely dedicated group and deserve better treatment by Duro.
Thank you, Whitfield. We don’t hear enough from the workers, to say the least. And those of us who haven’t worked there don’t know what the conditions are, so I appreciate the insider information.
I noticed several people have shown an interest in the manufacturing code on the bottom of the bag. While it may vary from plant to plant the basic code is as follows; Day, Month, Plant, Machine#, Shift produced. For example bags produced today in Elizabeth NJ, on machine 49 between 7:00am – 3:00pm, would look like this; 20 01 EL 49 A. The code may vary, however, this is the basic format. The Elizabeth plant is slowly be phased out, and all those people whose names are on those bags will soon be out of work. Durobag closes at least one plant a year.
Thank you again — very interesting. Why is the company closing plants? Are they consolidating the work, sending it to another plant in the US? Do the owners plan to send the work to another country, so they can pay lower wages?
The other Duro plants are in Kentucky or out west, where the wages are much lower and most don’t have unions. The plant manager was brought in from the closed Virginia plant to dismantle the Elizabeth plant. The employees there work in unsafe and stressful conditions. If you check Duro history, you’ll find upper management changes constantly and Elizabeth suffers.
Picked up a white Duro 12 holding two pastries from La Dulce Vita; white bag expertly assembled by Blanca Guillen Mar 05 13 (EL 18 C). I was curious about the name “Blanca Guillen” and googled it, thinking Guillen was the name of a specific type of bag. Guess I was off there.
Sorry to hear the EL factory will be closing. If Duro is closing their factories one by one, where will our bags get made? Poverty level wages (as mentioned above, and if true) in the USA are better than sending the work off-shore, where the work conditons will be worse and impact out trade deficit.
The reduction in production costs will not be passed along to the consumer. Bags will still be distributed by American companies. Paper bags are produced in China, Israel, and Korea. Poverty level wages help no one. Workers spend as many as 12 hrs a day, 6 days a week, away from their families, barely making ends meet. These type of jobs destroys families and weakens our society.
Thanks for the additional information, Whitfield. I couldn’t agree more that low wages and ridiculous hours are unacceptable, in the US or anywhere else.
Forgot about the other bag I brought home from the samestore, carrying orher pastries:
OCT 31 13
EL 26 c
GODOI
What makes this bag unique is that the flap with the stamp was glued under the blank flap, i.e. they were reversed. I guess GODOI’s fingers got them confused, or the bag arrived at the workstation mis-oriented
Since bags are produced for other companies, sometimes stamps, and or names are hidden, per company request. The bags are not hand made. The machine does all the work, the person only stacks the bags to be bundled. Their names are there to hold them accountable for defects returned to the plant.
So my original notion, that the names were on the bags as a potential punitive measure, was correct. I wanted to do something else with the names: enable paper bag users or consumers to notice that a human being had helped create their bags. Thanks again, Whitfield.
MARIA COLON JAN24 14
i got a Bonnie Morante bag this morning from my coffee shop in Tribeca, NYC. Thanks Bonnie!
I just brought home my milk and rice krispies in a very competent Jose Nopo , from a small market in Middlebury Vermont..I always opt for a paper grocery sac and check for a name on the bottom. If it’s a new one for me I cut it out , complete with Duro logo and codes, and add it to my collection , and today Jose Nopo joined the clan – Welcome Jose ! I then shred the rest of the bag and use it for bedding in my worm farm. It eventually returns to the Earth as nutritious wormcastings for a backyard tomato or pepper plant.. I also use the bags in my artwork of “Brownpeople” who are workers at almost anything.They push small lawnmowers and wield tiny rakes which i also create, and brown paper is their bluejeans ..
i have looked for years, to no avail, for some mention of the people whose names are on the bags , until today when i finally brought up your post . i was OVERJOYED ! there’s Jerome and Antonio and Pedro on somebody else’s list too,
Duro may think their names are there for quality control but they are REALLY there to share this sense of community that is being elicited here …..maybe the guys who think they run this joint will start to notice – soon… .
Thank you, Richard! I love to hear from artists who use the bags in their work — and you’re also using them to grow food! I too like to see the names and be reminded that a human being is running the manufacturing lines. Thanks again for reading, and say hello to Vermont for me!
Oh please with the downtrodden worker bit. I’m glad my name didn’t pop up in your list. This isn’t a bad job for working class manufacturing. People would be surprised what a bag machine operator can make, but like any job, if you saddle yourself with baggage and spend like an idiot, you won’t get anywhere. I make enough to pay expenses, buy what I need, buy what I want, and save and invest. I make about the same or more than people who go into other jobs in factories or hospitals that require a lot more training and less of a chance of hiring, and especially more than restaurant servers and bartenders I’ve known who laughed at the description of being a paper bag maker. Meanwhile I watch people in shipbuilding and steel mills and chemical factories get laid off while I haven’t missed a paycheck in nine years. I can also go a whole workday without having a conversation with another person, and considering other jobs I’ve had before this and that I’m qualified for (you can’t change the past), that is a very big advantage. It’s a no-nonsense job not trying to stick people on Facebook pages or have potluck Christmas parties or any of that stuff that just makes work really aggravating. I clock out and don’t have to think about work until I go back and clock in. As for the names being on the bags, quality control is important. Would you prefer if a company penalize everyone for one’s poor job, or for people not to have anything to show for a day’s work? That’s why the names are on, and the “name codes” are placed on the printing presses. The machines normally put out about 500 bags a minute, so that “gluing” is from a nozzles steadily applying paste to the paper as it runs through the machine.
“…that a person who’s probably making poverty-level wages is gluing these things after a machine folds them. ”
Next time do some research. The most work a bagmaker does is stack the pallets with the bags after they come out, and constantly make sure the machine is putting everything (ink, paste) in the right place. I’d much rather have my “dead-end” machine operator job fighting a machine than your average middle management job where people get a fancy title, a ton of ridiculous responsibilities like supervising idiots or cleaning the coffeemaker, and still only make in the $20-30,000 range while I make well more than that for much less of a hassle.
Thanks for commenting, Bagguette. I’m glad to hear that the job pays more than I’d thought, and you’re right about a lot of other work that’s no better and no worse. I found it tough to do research on the job — if you know of any sources of information outside the workplace on what the position involves, please let me know. Maybe I’ll change the intro to the post when I have some time — it’s entirely possible you make more money and have fewer hassles than I do at work!
Hello to all, especially to Springbyker. I have noticed the names in these bags for quite some time and am collecting as many of them as I can. We are using the bags with real printed names for a special project that we will be happy to post for everyone to see as soon as it is completed. It has taken me over a year to gather about one hundred, but we could move a lot faster with your help (we need over 300 individual names). If you have any bags you can send to us, please mail them to: 617 Berme Road, High Falls, NY 12440. If you can send more in bulk (individual names preferred) we would be happy to reimburse you for the postage. Thank you to everyone in advance.
Thank you, Pedro! I’ll try to get the word out, at least to my subscribers and via Facebook. Can you give us a little more information about the project? Is it visual art, and will it be on its own web page? Thanks again!
Hello. It is visual art. I do not have a website for it since it is a work in progress. At the current rate of bag collection the first of three pieces will be completed in January 2015. The whole triptych will take to about January 2016 to be done. It requires a lot of patience!
Today (11/20/14) I got a Brenda Nieves Aug 22 14. If anybody is interested, I will trade it for two Jan 2014 Maria Colons???
Reblogged this on Pomedeterre and commented:
search my hashtags #brownbagsarepeopletoo #paperpagsarepeopletoo I have some of these names as well! let’s collaborate! IG: @td.pomedeterre
Thank you, pomedeterre!
What wonderful RECOGNITION for the good people the make these marvels of paper engineering! Long live the Mighty Paper Bag!
I think it’s better to use containers that can be reused many times, but at least paper bags can be recycled and composted, unlike plastic. Thanks, Paul.
Worked at the covington kentucky plant on madison avenue for 3 years back in 1974 to 77. Went from machine operator to class b adjuster. Made the spirit of 76 grocery bag back long ago. Back then we had our names on the bags also. Worked in the new davis room they called it back then. I am retired now but don’t have any good memories of that place. It was hot and so loud you and got chewed out if your machine broke down for a few hours and lost production because of a broken gear or something worse. I seen supervisors get punched out by employees who were screaming at them calling them names. It was a hot environment and didn’t take much for tempers to flare. I got out of there when they had a 6 month strike. Was the worse place i had worked at as a young man. Ken Hicks my supervisor was a dick and and not a pleasent person to come in contact everyday working there. He made that dept a hostile environment to work at.
Thanks for commenting, Gary. It sounds as if the plants didn’t have good working conditions in the ’70s or the 2000s.
What an interesting article and thank you for posting it. As much as I pay attention to detail, I didn’t notice a name on my paper bags until today. Mine does not have a date, but rather a code for Joseph Ramirez BP06-08-18I or L. I find it terribly interesting these poor folks are tracked by the number of products they produce over the course of a day when it seems they should be getting paid by the hour. If they are tracking gluing, I wonder just how much quality control can be put into a paper bag to check for such things without either slowing down the production line or disrupting the sorting and packaging. Strange stuff.
In any case, thank you to all who labor over making something Americans surely take for granted on a regular basis without realizing this is likely tedious and unrewarding work!
Thank you! I must admit that I’ve almost stopped looking at the bottoms of bags since the corporation that bought out Duro has ceased printing the workers’ names on them.
According to an employee at the Duro plant in New Jersey, who left some rather cranky comments here a few years ago, the work is all done by machines and isn’t too odious; she said the names or codes are for quality control. I have to admit that after a few too many rounds of “strategic planning” at my office, she has a good point about a job you can leave at the end of the day, instead of taking it home with you.
Thanks for reading!
Hi!
I just found your site when Googling the name of Jerome Fenelus and Duro20 paper bags. Lo and behold, he’s on your list! Thanks for compiling this! It’s a great way to have these people be less anonymous and a bit more appreciated.
Hi Diane!
Thanks for reading! I was thinking about archiving that post, because Duro no longer identifies its employees by name on the bags. But a couple of weeks ago, I found 5 names on another manufacturer’s bag, so I’ll keep adding to the list!
Oh that’s too bad they stopped doing that, but at least other companies still are. Thanks for the update!!!
I am wondering if you ever crossed refrenced these names against people that are in jail. I saw them on my bags Salem OR different stores and saw they also were names of inmates. I find it very odd. Thoufhts??Reasons?? And hey could I possibly get more than 5 cents. I think my town would like to know this.
Hi Jill,
I’ve never done that; over the years I’ve heard from current and former Duro workers about their experiences in the New Jersey plant. Some of the names are pretty common, and people caught in the prison-industrial complex have enough stigma to deal with while rebuilding their lives outside of cages, so no, I’ve never cross-referenced names.