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On June 26, 2009 production ceased on the Alabama Site, ending almost 34 years of steering production. On December 8, 1975, the first steering pump rolled off the line as 150 employees began what would become a way of life and a living for over a generation of folks from the North Alabama and Southern Tennessee area. It all began in Plant 21 and in the end Plant 21 ushered out the last few pieces of production.
The past four years have been a roller coaster ride for our membership. When Delphi filed for bankruptcy on October 8, 2005, shockwaves were sent through the industry, through the corporation and through our local union. Delphi brought hired gun Steve Miller in to take the company into bankruptcy to redistribute their compensation cost up the food chain, and that is what they did. Long time Delphi workers were pushed out to make room for lower waged new hires, while dolling out over $500 million dollars in executive bonuses to the very management that made the decisions that brought the company to bankruptcy. Steve Miller repeatedly made fun of the UAW workforce in the press while defending his handover of millions to those sitting looking out the windows in those plush offices at the Troy headquarters. His ruthlessness was never ending as he bragged about all the lives he had destroyed at the other companies he had taken into bankruptcy.
The International Union began to negotiate a “soft landing” for those members caught up in the madness the Delphi bankruptcy was. UAW Vice-President Richard Shoemaker led the way in negotiating an agreement that allowed those with 26 years or more of seniority to grow into retirement. The GM Benefit Guarantee was triggered to cover those members who had worked for GM on the signing of the 1998 agreement. The remainder of our membership received lump sum payments in return for wages cuts. While the membership and the International Union didn’t like the terms Delphi demanded while holding the bankruptcy gun to our head, the feeling was that maybe through it all we could survive and work on restoring the our contract in the future. The Alabama Site was to be sold with a new company assuming ownership.
On June 22, 2007 the announcement came that the site would be closed – not sold. The announcement was another kick to a group of people who had given so much to keep the doors open. The events that followed have been a grim countdown for the nearly 4,000 UAW members both active and retired that toiled on the site.
With final production on June 26, 2009, the end of hopes and dreams for our members ended as quickly and as silently as a death. As the lights went out and the sound of silence echoed across the walls of Plant 21, the stark reminder of corporate greed and complacency of elected public officials washed over the site like the stench of death; death of hopes, death of dreams, death of promise and finally death of satisfaction in doing the right thing.
An agreement was made to accept the roughly 300 traditional employees who were left at GM’s Spring Hill Assembly Plant in Spring Hill Tennessee. Through the end of June there remained about 140 of members awaiting transfer to Spring Hill. However, on June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for bankruptcy and announced the closing or idling of a number of plants. Included in the announcement was the news that Spring Hill would be idled and its product moved to the Delta Township facility south of Lasing, Michigan. The fate of our brothers and sister who have been transferred to Spring Hill and that of those men and women who already make up the membership at UAW Local 1853 there will be determined when GM makes the announcement of which of the three idled plants will receive a new small car. GM originally planned to build that car in China, but the UAW was able to get an agreement to place those jobs here in the states. (GM recently announced that car will be built in Michigan.)
On June 1, 2009, General Motors filed for bankruptcy, placing our members and retirees through another round of worry. At this writing it appears that GM has agreements with most of their creditors as the court proceedings begin. The UAW ratified changes to the agreement on May 29, 2009. It is widely believed these changes will be acceptable to the bankruptcy judge. The U.S. Treasury, who is providing the bankruptcy financing, accepted the terms of the agreement which should mean no more concessions at this time. The agreement resulted in losses in retiree health care (dental and vision) as well has increased co-pays on prescription drugs and emergency room visits.
So how did we end up here? It is really a combination of things. The downturn in the economy has resulted in plunging vehicle sales. Two years ago the North American automotive market was 17 million units. Projections for this year are at 10 million units.
Another issue was the credit markets. Unscrupulous practices by banks and other lending institutions resulted in the crash of the credit markets as Washington voted to put $700 billion in the financial system last fall.
However, rather than using the money to open up credit, many banks are sitting in the money making it harder to borrow. Homes and cars are the two items that are usually financed. Most people buy one – maybe two homes in a life time, but the average consumer buys a new automobile about once every three years. With credit markets drying up, only about 25% of the general public qualified for an automotive loan. Without money to borrow, consumers wishing to purchase a new vehicle have been locked out of the showrooms.
Since the beginning of this debacle there have been more questions than answers. Unfortunately this remains the case. Once the site closes and the remainder of our members are transferred to Spring Hill, the local will transition to a retiree local. There are no plans at this time to close the union hall, but the future of the hall will be subject to the economic climate and the retiree local will have to make the decisions that shape the future.
Effectively June 26, 2009, Alabama Site will no longer have benefit representatives the to handle health care issues. However, Region Director Gary Casteel has appointed a member of the regional staff to act as the benefit representative for GM retirees in Region 8. Skipper Rish works out of the Atlanta Office and can be reached at 1-866-854-9756 or by email at skipperrish@att.net. Going forward Skipper can handle benefit issues for all retirees.
Summing up 34 years of work and sweat is not easy in a few paragraphs. The things we accomplished together can never be diminished or taken away by corporate raiders such as Steve Miller. Literally millions of vehicles on the road today carry the fruits of our labor. Thousands more have benefited from the donations made by members of UAW Local 2195 through the many United Way organizations that we supported through the years. Thousands of other jobs were created by the Alabama Site through supplying goods and services or from the payroll that was spent in the community. Though the sounds of silence may now echo through the idled buildings, the site will never die as long as our memories remain. Those in power make take our jobs, they may take our benefits, they may take our security but they will never take our solidarity. It isn’t theirs to give. It is the thing that binds us and sustains us wherever we go. It is what made us one and made us a union. Because of this our local will never end as long as we hold our solidarity and our collective focus. The last verse of the UAW’s theme song “Solidarity Forever” states it most elegantly:
“In our hands is placed a power,
Greater than their hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of atoms,
Magnified a thousandfold;
We can bring to birth a new world,
From the ashes of the old
For the Union makes us strong.” |
