ONE-ON-ONE | Bob Chambers Interacting with people proves to be best part of job

Q. Most of the public's attention regarding General Motors is focused on the Lordstown Assembly Plant, but doesn't the fabrication plant face much of the same uncertainty?
A. We share some of the same anxieties with our sister location next door. Right now, things are going well, but I don't know what the future will hold.
I don't know whether we are going to get a car next door [to replace the current models of the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire] or how that will translate to us. It's an uncertainty.
Q. Does that mean if they get a new product, your plant will continue as it has, but if they don't get a new product, your plant is in trouble?
A. Quite frankly, if there's no product for next door, then obviously that signals a demise for General Motors in this Valley. I don't know if anything else would come here, but I know it would send a direct and clear signal to the fabricating plant.
Q. Has GM signaled its intentions for your plant through investments or otherwise?
A. We've had ongoing discussions about the future of our location and what things we might need to do to enhance our future. We've had that dialogue for a number of months now. They seem to be going in a positive direction.
Q. How has this uncertainty affected the workers?
A. Uncertainty is just that. It's very unsettling on the work force, especially with the younger workers. It seems to be on everybody's mind -- what direction is General Motors going in? What's going to happen in the future?
Q. As president of the local, how do you deal with that?
A. I believe my foremost role is to let people know what's going on. People seem to deal with issues a lot easier when they are informed.
I've always been a firm believer in being upfront, sometimes bordering on being blunt, with folks and letting them know what we know at the current time about what future product may be coming there or what changes might be happening at our location.
Q. How long have you been president?
A. This is my third three-year term.
Q. Why did you run for the office?
A. I worked on the floor and I saw what the UAW [United Auto Workers] agreements had done for me. I think I wanted to give back. I thought I had things to offer.
Q. What's been the best part of the job?
A. Interacting with people. Talking with people. Meeting new people. Presenting your points of view from a union perspective, both internally and externally, in the Valley. Being able to have dialogue with labor leaders and political leaders of the Valley, state and national level.
Q. Do you think the image of the union and workers at Lordstown has improved over the years?
A. Absolutely. Back in the '70s, you had the Blue Collar Blues and they were a radical bunch of people. I think that has changed dramatically for the better. A lot of workers out there today have college degrees. The work force is extremely articulate, well-read, well-educated.
Q. Do you still feel like you're fighting that old perception when you're dealing with people in Detroit?
A. No. I think at one time there were certain folks up there who looked less than favorably at our location. But I don't think that stigma is still attached to the Lordstown fabricating plant.
Q. Do you enjoy your job?
A. The job is very interesting. The job at times can be extremely stressful and very difficult.
Q. What makes it stressful at those times?
A. At times of uncertainty, anything becomes stressful. I certainly don't possess knowledge that would allow me to look into the future. I sure wish I did. During those times, the job becomes very stressful. I've always been quite honored to have a job like this.
Q. Is much of your job handling public relations activities?
A. Absolutely. The president's job, in addition to all the things you do internally, is very much a public relations job. You're not only selling yourself, but you're selling the union as a whole. You're selling your membership. That to me is an absolutely paramount issue, to portray this local union in the most favorable, positive light I possibly can.
Q. And you try to do that by talking about things like the workers' education?
A. Yes. Speaking about education, we have a very well-educated, very marketable work force. We're doing some things now with kids on the outside. We are bringing in different children from the outside from different vocational schools. They are learning what it's like to work at the Lordstown fabricating center. Not everybody goes to college. I'm a firm believer in education. I believe you can never get enough education. That's why we started the program four years ago.
Q. Tell me more about this program.
A. We've brought children from the Mahoning and Trumbull county vocational schools for 10 weeks and had them work two or three hours on the days they are here. We've shown them that there is more than college, maybe they can go into a trade. We did that jointly with General Motors.
Q. How did you come to work at GM?
A. I was a young boy and I was working some small jobs and my mother was just absolutely livid with me when I said I was going to work for General Motors. I was going to Youngstown State, and she could not understand why I did not continue my studies. I was getting very good grades.
Q. What were you studying?
A. Business management. I just saw that money out there. The work was relatively easy on the assembly line and I liked it.
Q. You've been here 32 years. When are you going to retire?
A. I don't know. I'm 50 years old. I always felt I had some more to contribute, and I didn't want to lock myself into an absolute date. Sure, I look at that as a viable option, but I still think I have some things to offer to our plant and our membership.
Q. Is there something else you look forward to doing when you do retire?
A. I'll absolutely go back to school. That's something I've always had in the back of my mind.
Q. What do you do when you are not working on union affairs?
A. During the warmer months, I love doing landscaping around the house and yard work. It seems to be very therapeutic for me. It allows me to be out in the open air.
Also, I've tried to spend as much time as I possibly can with my children and point them in a positive direction.
XTHE WRITER/ Don Shilling, Vindicator business editor, conducted the interview.