GM plant worry leaves city on edge

DEFIANCE, Ohio (AP) — Bernie Shively steered his pickup truck around the union hall parking lot two times this week, passing all the empty spaces before finally shutting off the engine.

He sat behind the wheel of his GMC Sierra at the back of the lot, facing two choices, with just a few hours to decide.

Go inside to turn in his retirement papers from General Motors Corp. and hope his health benefits and pension aren’t eliminated in a few months. Or turn back and return to a job that might not be around in another year.

Either way, Shively faces an uncertain future as GM, which churns out engine blocks in this northern Ohio city of 17,000, rushes to rework a reorganization plan ordered by the federal government. Pay cuts and more job losses, which most here expect, would create a ripple effect that touches almost everyone.

Shively wants to make the right decision for himself and his family.

“It’s just unreal how much pressure there is,” said Shively, 54, still sitting in his truck Tuesday while dozens of co-workers were inside the hall accepting the company’s buyout and making their retirements official. “Do I give up my job now? Do I take a pay cut? I just wish somebody could tell us what’s going to happen.”

There are no guarantees for anyone. Not for GM workers, not for the few other businesses in the area, not for the town.

“The next 60 days will have a big impact on us,” said Bob Armstrong, a GM retiree who is now the mayor. That’s how long the automaker has to make more cuts and transform itself so it can receive additional federal aid.

The possibility of bankruptcy protection is growing, and that could bring the loss of benefits for retired employees.

About 60 workers at GM’s foundry here accepted buyout and early-retirement incentives this week without knowing whether their benefits would be safe, said Dwight Chatham, president of the United Auto Workers union Local 211.

Most folks know how important the factory is to the area, Chatham said. It’s the city’s biggest water customer and accounts for about a quarter of its income tax revenue, bringing in several million dollars each year. It supports charities and youth sports.

“This affects not just us, but the schools, the churches, the city,” he said. “We’re all on the ship together.”

Losing GM would put many of the town’s clothing stores and restaurants out of business, said Larry Joost, a used-car salesman. “We depend on these plants,” he said.

The town has bounced back from cuts at GM in recent years as small businesses have sprouted up, adding more jobs. A new highway connecting Toledo and Fort Wayne, Ind., promises to bring more development and jobs.

Still, the county’s jobless rate was at 13.3 percent in February.

The city decided two weeks ago not to buy any new vehicles this year and won’t open one of two swimming pools this summer.

Employment at the GM plant is now at 1,500 — down from 5,500 in the 1970s, when it made engine blocks but also contracted with other companies to build everything from manhole covers to tank treads.

Workers hope they have an edge, since there’s just one other U.S. plant — in Saginaw, Mich. — that makes GM engine blocks. They can’t imagine the company could get by without both.

It’s a tough job.

“We pour molten iron in there,” said Keith Nally, who has put in 33 years. “You can’t imagine how hot it gets.”

He decided against taking early retirement because he figured the offer of $20,000 cash and a $25,000 voucher to buy a car wouldn’t go too far once he paid his taxes on the buyout.

In the end, Shively decided to turn in his retirement papers, still wondering what the future holds.