Officials agree strike could be devastating

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

LORDSTOWN — A prolonged strike by United Auto Workers would be a devastating blow to the Mahoning Valley’s struggling economy, local mayors and labor union officials say.

The mayors and union officials hope for a quick resolution and a short strike at the General Motors plant in Lordstown. The plant, with about 3,600 employees, is the Valley’s largest industrial employer.

“If it’s a long strike, you never know what the collateral damage will be,” said Lordstown Mayor Michael Chaffee. “Short-term is what we’re looking for. This afternoon [for a settlement] would be great.”

UAW workers, about 73,000 in total, walked off the job Monday at 82 U.S. facilities.

“As mayor, I fully appreciate the importance of Lordstown to our family, our community and our economic well-being,” said Warren Mayor Michael O’Brien. “It not only affects Warren as a municipal government, but it also affects every business in our community.”

‘Not good for us’

Don Crane, president of the Western Reserve Building and Construction Trades Council, said it’s unfortunate that the UAW and GM officials couldn’t iron out a final resolution at the bargaining table.

Job security was the top unresolved issue, said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger.

“Given the economic climate in the Valley and the job market, this is not good for us,” said Crane, whose council represents 5,000 members of 14 separate unions in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

“It’s a shame that it had to come to this. Hopefully, we can come out of it. A long strike could have a huge economic impact on the Valley.”

If the strike lasts a couple of months, it will have a huge impact on the local economy, said Reid Dulberger, the Regional Chamber’s executive vice president.

“To have thousands of workers on strike will cause massive unrest in the community,” he said. “A short strike will have little impact on the Valley, but a long strike would have huge ramifications on the Valley. I hope the strike is measured in hours or at most, in days.”

For the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 717, a long strike would hit them and their employer — Delphi Packard Electric — hard. GM is the company’s No. 1 customer.

“Like everybody else, we hope they come to a quick conclusion,” said Mike O’Donnell, shop chairman of the 1,000-member union that represents Packard workers in Warren, Cortland, Vienna and Rootstown. “A long strike would mean layoffs at all suppliers of materials, like us, to GM.”

A long strike would “have a devastating impact” on the area’s economy, he said.

Gary Steinbeck, the United Steelworkers of America’s subdistrict director of the Youngstown, Warren, Ashtabula, Cleveland and Akron area, declined to comment on the UAW strike except to say he’s “confident they’ll get a labor agreement, hopefully.”

As president of the 750-member Youngstown General Duty Nurse Association at Forum Health’s Northside Medical Center in Youngstown and Beeghly Medical Park in Boardman, Eric Williams has dealt with a lot of labor-management problems as the facilities’ owner tries to sell.

“I’m definitely concerned when any labor union goes on strike,” he said. “Lordstown General Motors is a large part of our local economy.”

Plant’s future uncertain

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams wants the strike to end very soon.

He points out that GM’s future in Lordstown is uncertain with the company committed to building the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 until June 2009. There is no guarantee of GM’s adding another car line after that.

“There is a great deal of concern,” Williams said. “The improvements made in terms of efficiency, productivity and a working relationship [between management and the workers] I hope won’t be lost by this strike.”

Also, a long strike “would reverberate throughout the Valley as we slowly and gingerly claw our way back. It would be a significant setback,” the mayor said.

skolnick@vindy.com