Effort underway to save GM Lordstown plant

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

WARREN

With a child in high school, RaNeal Edwards of Austintown, a 23-year General Motors employee, doesn’t want to move.

Her life is here, and this is where she wants to stay.

That’s how many General Motors Lordstown employees feel, but some are having to make the difficult decision to transfer to out-of-state jobs.

That’s why Edwards is taking part in the Drive It Home campaign in support of the plant, launched Monday at the United Auto Workers Local 1112 hall.

“Times are really hard right now, but we’re pushing through,” Edwards said. “We’re just trying to make sure all of our laid-off members know we’re here for them.”

Edwards stood on stage Monday as UAW and Mahoning Valley elected officials kicked off the campaign they hope will help secure the Lordstown plant’s future.

Concerns about that future have risen over the past two years, as General Motors has laid off two out of three shifts at the plant as sales of the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze compact car have declined amid a shrinking small-car market.

Hundreds of people packed the hall for the kickoff event. The crowd included officials with the Western Reserve Port Authority; outgoing and newly elected politicians; UAW retirees and members; representatives of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber; Trumbull and Mahoning county commissioners; Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown; Warren Mayor Doug Franklin; elected officials from Lordstown and other local communities; auto-dealership owners; and representatives from local school districts, among others.

Noting the plant’s 52-year history of building cars, Dave Green, president of UAW Local 1112, said, “We need to keep building vehicles because manufacturing drives it home here in the Mahoning Valley; manufacturing drives it home in Ohio; and manufacturing drives it home in America.”

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, said, “This is not a political issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue.”

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, said the “greatest asset” the Valley can offer GM is its resiliency.

“We’ve battled bad trade agreements. We’ve battled globalization. We’ve battled automation, and we’re still here and we’re still standing,” he said. “What we’re saying is, ‘You tell us what your big vision is, General Motors, and we’ll deliver the best damned workforce to you.’”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, was met with enthusiasm from many in the crowd.

Brown discussed past efforts to bolster auto jobs, such as a 1998 Bring It Home campaign in support of the Lordstown plant and the auto-industry bailout a decade ago.

Brown said he has spoken with General Motors CEO Mary Barra and President Donald Trump about the Lordstown plant.

“Neither Mary Barra nor the president of the United States has given an answer, nor have they yet intervened on behalf of workers in this Valley,” he said.

Brown was critical of the federal tax-reform bill last year that benefited companies such as General Motors.

“We need more people in Washington on our side that are going to fight for this industry and fight for these workers,” Brown said. “That’s why this Drive It Home campaign is so important.”

Ohio Secretary of State and Lt. Gov.-elect Jon Husted said he and Gov.-elect Mike DeWine hope to meet with General Motors executives soon after they take

office in January.

If they are able to meet with GM officials, Husted said he and DeWine will deliver this message: “That the Mahoning Valley and the state of Ohio are ready to work with them to ensure the future of this facility, and that we want to prepare ourselves and understand how we can fit into GM’s plans for the future.”

In terms of campaign specifics, James Dignan, the chamber’s president and CEO, said it will begin with an educational initiative to raise awareness about the importance of the Lords-town plant and of manufacturing jobs. That could lead to a letter-writing campaign, trips to Columbus or town-hall meetings to which GM officials would be invited, he said.

Right now, the focus is on building a coalition that now includes Local 1112, local auto dealers, elected officials and the chamber, Dignan said.

So far, Lordstown GM management has not joined the coalition.

Asked to comment on the campaign’s potential impact on GM’s decision-making about future product allocations, Renee Rashid-Merem, GM corporate communications manager for global manufacturing and labor communications, said: “The community and local leaders have always been strong advocates for our Lordstown complex, its people and the vehicles they build. As always, market dynamics and consumer preferences determine the product schedule at the plant.”

For information or to make a tax-deductible donation to the campaign, visit www.driveithomeohio.com.