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End of shift was a trickle, not an exodus
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and ED runyan
LORDSTOWN
The end of shift Wednesday at General Motors Lordstown was not an exodus, but rather a trickle of somber employees hauling their personal belongings to their cars.
Ed Randall, who worked for the company 30 years, stood in the bitter cold for two hours to greet employees leaving the plant for the last time.
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“I retired July 1, so I just showed up on the last day to give my fellow co-workers well wishes,” Randall said.
Employees leaving the building exhibited a mix of anger, sadness and hope.
One man slammed the door of his car, shouting: “I can’t wait to get out of this hell hole!”
Darlene Cross left the plant about 3 p.m. with her friend Jackie McVicker. The pair have worked together for nearly 10 years.
“We were all crying,” Cross said.
Tom Parmeter and his wife, Rene, took pictures of each other clocking out for the last time. This is their fourth GM plant.
Tom has worked for GM for 35 years, and his wife, 19 years. “I can’t understand why GM is doing this,” Tom said. “American greed, I guess.”
Doug Grant walked out of the plant with three co-workers who shook hands as they parted ways and headed toward their vehicles.
Grant was wearing a T-shirt calling GM greedy and said Lordstown workers helped GM earn billions in profits – $8.1 billion in 2018, according to the Associated Press.
“I think GM owes something back to the community,” he said.
Dozens of workers and supporters blocked Ellsworth Bailey road near the turnpike interchange during a rally after the shift’s end.
They gathered around local activist Werner Lange, who, for the past 43 days, has been holding a vigil for the laid-off United Auto Workers Local 1112 members.
“I think this is a real strong sign of hope because the community is clearly in a position of optimism and determination that this plant will not permanently close,” Lange said. “It’s too important. It’s actually a plant that is in the blood and bones of this community.”
Only about 400 UAW workers have accepted transfers to other GM facilities. Others “put down their tools for the last time” on that “gut-wrenching” Wednesday, Local 1112 President Dave Green said. “It’s very frustrating for them.”
A few workers left pairs of their work shoes at the entrance east of the administration building.
Rene Parmeter said the gesture was intended to remind people the workers are human.
The most difficult aspect of the day for Jennifer Cruz was walking away from the web of family ties at the plant.
“What really hit me is there are generations after generations at this place. I hoped my kids would work here. My parents worked here, too,” Cruz said.
Many employees managed to hold out hope, even at the end of their final shift.
“I am reasonably optimistic about this. I’m hoping we are going to get a new product. ... We worked hard. We have done everything GM has asked us to do, and we deserve another product,” said Tiffany King of Salem.
Dennis Peebles echoed King’s sentiments. “I feel strongly that in two years or less, we’ll have something in,” Peebles said.
Tommie Harris of Youngstown, who worked at the plant more than 20 years, said he believes GM will allocate another product, and he’s planning to pause a bit before taking a transfer to another community.
“I’m not going to hit the panic button,” he said. “I’m just going to hang in there. And if it comes down to moving, then I guess I got to move.”
The plant’s uncertain fate and the nostalgia of the day did not eclipse the fact that Wednesday’s shift was about finishing a job.
“We definitely finished building a quality car. We all performed our duties like usual – took pride in our product. We followed the last car out and called it a day,” Peebles said.
Contributors: Staff writers Joe Gorman and Justin Dennis