Leaders gather at plant to discuss concern for workers, economy
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A coffin representing the GM Moraine Assembly plant is carried at a rally outside the plant on Tuesday, Dec. 23. Jobs with Justice, a coalition of area religious, community, student and labor organizations, held a People's Bailout demonstration on the final day of production at the plant. Staff photo by Chris Stewart.MORAINE — Labor and community leaders gathered near General Motors Corp.'s Moraine Assembly plant on Tuesday, Dec. 23, to mourn its closure and express concern for the workers who have lost their jobs.
Closure of the plant, which makes mid-sized sport utility vehicles such as the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the GMC Envoy, will eliminate 1,100 jobs.
Jim Clark, president of the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America, said the shuttering of the Moraine plant isn't an isolated incident. Instead, it represents the hardships experienced by much of the country's manufacturing sector, he said.
"I think this is another blow to the middle class," he said.
The closure also will affect 51 local suppliers and 100 suppliers across the state, said Wes Wells, executive director of the Dayton-Miami Valley AFL-CIO.
IUE-CWA officials said the displaced workers will have access to training and education grants.
Still, the weak economy will make finding new jobs difficult, Clark said.
"It's not over for these families," Clark said. "They will fight another day. Unfortunately, this on top of the devastation we have in this country when it comes to manufacturing jobs, is going to make it very rough for these people to at least stay in this community and find new work."
Lisa and Pat Whittaker have each worked 14 years at General Motors Corp.'s Moraine Assembly plant, met there and married.
"We'll be taking more than our toolboxes out of here," Lisa, 39, said with a smile.
But both were coping with the emotional burden of bidding farewell to people they had worked alongside for years.
"When you see people every day for 14 years, it's like family," said Pat, 41.
The Beavercreek couple already have made plans to move on with their lives. Lisa is scheduled to start a nursing education course in January at Hondros College in Fairborn. In February, Pat is to start a welding training program at the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy.
They said they also are taking advantage of programs that their union, the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America, negotiated with GM. Under those programs, IUE-CWA members losing jobs at the Moraine plant can get cash severance benefits and transfer into jobs that become vacant at GM plants represented by the rival United Auto Workers union. In addition, IUE-CWA members who lose their jobs because of a plant closing can become eligible for retirement benefits at 50, Pat Whittaker said.
Also during Tuesday's press conference, Jobs With Justice, called for federal lawmakers to pass an economic recovery package that includes investments in physical infrastructure, investment in education and tougher regulation of banks and financial institutions.
Initially, GM announced in June that it would close the Moraine plant by 2010 as part of a larger restructuring. The following month, the company said it would eliminate its second shift.
In October, the automaker accelerated the closure, announcing it would shutter the factory this year. The company also shuttered an SUV assembly plant Tuesday in Janesville, Wis.
GM will continue to have a small manufacturing presence in the Dayton area through the DMAX engine plant it operates as a joint venture with Isuzu.
