A matter of survival

A matter of survival

EDITOR:

The recent letter from a Youngstown woman concerning the recent ENOUGH rally in Warren and how she feels threatened because she owns a Honda Accord certainly deserves a response.

Although I have been employed by General Motors for over 3 decades, my opinions on this subject are based more on being a lifelong resident of the Mahoning Valley than an autoworker.

Ever since Honda opened their plants in Marysville, Ohio, I’ve heard the same tired argument that the cars they assemble are in fact American cars because they are made in Ohio. My first thought is, why would someone want to help the Marysville economy instead of our area economy by purchasing an Accord instead of a Cobalt? Another salient point is, where do the profits from purchasing a foreign car end up — Detroit or Tokyo?

Does the letter writer have any idea how much money GM and all the workers associated with GM pump into the area economy, not just in taxes and purchasing power but charities also? If the Lordstown complex ever closed, the economic tsunami that would bury the Mahoning Valley would be horrific. But I guess some people would find solace in the fact that the Marysville economy will be humming along.

The Honda owner writes she wants to feel safe in her auto and worries it could be vandalized by people like those who attended the Warren rally. She must have visions of angry autoworkers wielding torches and pitchforks rampaging through the mall parking lots like a scene from an old Frankenstein movie searching for the foreign car monster.

She can relax. Autoworkers are much more intelligent than some people believe they are. They will show their power with money not menacing. A business owner in the area that caters to the public and owns a foreign car or uses foreign vehicles in their business should prepare themselves for fewer autoworkers both active and retired walking in their door. We indeed have had enough and just as someone enjoys the freedom to buy a foreign vehicle in they so desire, we enjoy the freedom where to spend our hard earned paychecks and pensions. Rest assured, we will. It’s not personal, it’s business. The business of survival.

TIM O’HARA

Austintown