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White House verifies visit from Obama to the Valley
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GM Lordstown prepares for the Cruze.
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In this Vindicator archive photo, Cobalts are seen on the assembly line at GM Lordstown.
The president is expected to talk about keeping manufacturing jobs in the U.S. on Tuesday, a local union official says.
By DON SHILLING and DAVID SKOLNICK
LORDSTOWN — President Barack Obama will meet with General Motors workers in Lordstown on Tuesday, a White House official confirmed Thursday night.
“He will be discussing the economy,” said the official, who asked not to be identified.
The time of his visit to the plant is being finalized. But it will likely be early in the day, before Obama’s scheduled trip to Pittsburgh, she indicated.
Local officials earlier in the day had been waiting to hear confirmation from the White House, though they seemed to believe the visit would be a reality.
The White House schedule has Obama speaking at the complex Tuesday, but plans “could change at any given moment for any given reason,” said Dave Green, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714 at the Lordstown metal stamping plant.
Lordstown Mayor Michael Chaffee said that people from the car complex have indicated to him the visit will happen.
“It sounds like a go. That’s the chatter on the street, but no one has picked up the phone and called to say it’s absolutely on,” he said.
The White House returned a call to The Vindicator just before 7:40 p.m.
A stop at Lordstown would make sense because the complex is preparing to launch the Chevrolet Cruze, a new small car that is crucial to GM’s future, Green said.
A presidential visit would show the nation the automaker is alive and well after receiving massive federal loans and going through a quick bankruptcy, Green said.
He expects Obama to talk about the need to keep manufacturing jobs in this country.
GM is adding a second shift to the Lordstown complex Oct. 5 to increase production of its current car, the Chevrolet Cobalt, and to begin making test models of the Cruze.
Green declined to reveal how he knew about the visit.
Secret service agents are expected to visit the GM plant as early as today, said a political source, who received anonymity because that person isn’t authorized to speak about the event.
Lordstown Police Chief Brent Milhoan said he has not been contacted about a presidential visit. He said he expects to hear from the Secret Service if Obama does come to town.
Jim Graham, president of UAW Local 1112 at the Lordstown assembly plant, said he wanted to wait until today before commenting about the potential visit.
First news of the potential visit came in an online report Wednesday by The Detroit News. The story said Obama plans to stop in Lordstown as part of a swing through the Midwest to talk about jobs and the economy.
The White House confirmed that Obama will be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday to address the AFL-CIO convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The president will return to Pittsburgh and the convention center on Sept. 24 and 25 to host the G-20 summit.
shilling@vindy.com
skolnick@vindy.com