Campaign hopes to persuade GM to 'Drive It Home' to Valley

LORDSTOWN

Twenty years ago, the General Motors Lordstown plant was in a similar situation to the one it’s in today.

In the waning days of 1998, the future of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cavalier, and the plant, seemed uncertain. Sales were mixed, and GM had made it known it was planning a successor to the Cavalier and the Pontiac Sunfire. There were fears the company planned to double its car production in Mexico.

So, in fall 1998, Mahoning Valley leaders – including the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, as well as management and union leaders at the plant – came together for what they called the “Bring It Home” campaign. Community members wrote letters in support of the plant; businesses showed their supports with banners and posters.

A few years later, the plant was building a new product – the Chevrolet Cobalt.

Today, there is again anxiety over the plant’s future due to the layoffs of two out of three shifts of workers who build the Chevrolet Cruze compact car.

On Monday, elected officials and business and community leaders will launch a similar campaign, calling it “Drive It Home.”

“The end goal is to get product and commitment here in Lordstown, at the GM facility,” said Dave Green, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112. “We’d like to see our plant up and running on three shifts.”

Read more about the plan in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.