MVEDC honors locals in effort for GM project

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
BOARDMAN -- The president of the United Auto Workers came to town not just to honor current Lordstown autoworkers but those from the past as well.
The current members and leaders of UAW locals 1112 and 1714 worked hard to persuade General Motors Corp. to bring its next generation of small cars to Lordstown, said Ron Gettelfinger at a ceremony Wednesday honoring the locals.
"We salute their determination to Bring it Home," he said, referring to a community-wide campaign to support the Lordstown workers.
The workers were honored at the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp.'s annual dinner at Mr. Anthony's.
Learning from history
Gettelfinger added that much more can be learned from the history of the Lordstown complex.
Back in the 1970s, it was the Lordstown workers who stood up to increasing robotics and assembly line speed and refused to be considered as if they were machines, he said.
It was a time of labor unrest at the plant, but it was necessary so that those leading the auto industry knew workers did not want to check their brains at the door when they came to work, he said.
"Young Lordstown workers at that time resisted and persisted, and it was through this resistance and persistence that this company and union began to realize we need to involve workers more in just the daily ritual of their jobs," he said.
Labor and management today need to keep developing mutual trust, he said.
Company officials must allow workers to have input on safety, quality and productivity issues. Workers must ensure products are made with good quality and efficiency.
"If it's applied equally, it's a win-win for everyone," he said.
Lordstown workers have shown in recent years that they are willing to do what's necessary to improve quality and productivity, he said. That's why GM was willing to make a commitment to the plant, he said.
The MVEDC awards were accepted by Jim Graham, president of Local 1112 at the assembly plant, and Bob Chambers, president of Local 1714 at the fabricating plant.
Both said they were accepting the award on behalf of their memberships.
"They're the people that got this award," Chambers said.
Graham said the union membership "gave this Valley an early Christmas present." He challenged those in attendance to build on this by promoting the positive things about the Valley.
The project
GM has committed to remodeling the assembly plant and putting new equipment into the fabricating plant to build the cars that will replace the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire. The two-year project is expected to cost more than $500 million.
Gettelfinger said in a press conference before the dinner that it's too early to know how many workers will be needed to build the new models.
"Those decisions will be made as time goes on," he said.
UAW officials will be working closely with GM officials on issues of staffing and using outside suppliers, he said.
The assembly plant is expected to need fewer workers through increased automation and improved design of the car. The plant has about 4,200 hourly workers, while the fabricating plant has about 2,400.
shilling@vindy.com