Portman, Brown not pleased with GM’s response

Staff report

WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, and Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, said GM executives’ Friday response to their Dec. 11 letter didn’t address their concerns and Lordstown workers “deserve better.”

In a statement issued Saturday, the senators said GM’s response “offered no path forward” for the soon-idled Lordstown plant.

“While we asked GM to provide clarity to the Lordstown community, the company chose to sidestep our questions instead. As we head into the holiday season, workers at Lordstown are faced with fear and uncertainty about their futures. They deserve better,” the statement reads. “We will continue pushing GM to do the right thing, provide answers to its workers and bring another vehicle to Lordstown to ensure workers keep their jobs.”

The senators’ letter, addressed to GM CEO Mary Barra, asked more than a dozen pointed questions about the plant’s current status, its future and potential impacts on potential job and supply chains. The senators gave Barra a deadline of Friday to respond.

The response arrived that day, but from Dan Turton, GM North America’s VP of public policy. The letter states most impacted employees may transfer to one of 2,700 jobs available at other GM plants, and about 1,200 of the 2,800 impacted hourly employees are eligible for retirement.

“We are working to find a plan for every person,” the letter reads.

“The future of Lordstown Assembly and other impacted plants will be determined, in part, during our 2019 contract negotiations with the UAW. Any follow-on impact to our suppliers will be better understood at that time.”