Brown, Portman Urge GM to ‘Stand by Ohio’ in Op-Ed
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown have co-authored an op-ed for Fox Business urging General Motors “to stand by Ohio,” noting the Lordstown Complex was earlier this year ranked as the company’s best plant in North America.
“We want answers, but the people of Lordstown deserve more than that. They deserve the opportunity to once again show what they can do,” the senators wrote. “They deserve the chance to continue making cars in the community many of them have called home for their entire lives, and to be treated with the respect and dignity they have earned through the region’s decades-long commitment to GM.”
With more than 50 years of production at the Lordstown Complex, “GM has become ingrained in the Mahoning Valley,” they continued. “From bull market through the Great Recession, Lordstown has stood by GM. Now GM, Trumbull County’s single largest employer, is about to walk out on Lordstown.”
On Nov. 26, General Motors announced it would end production of the Chevrolet Cruze at the Lordstown plant, idling some 1,500 workers. Over the past two years, GM has laid off nearly 3,000 workers as the number of shifts has been reduced from three to one.
“GM has announced plans to produce 20 new electric vehicles by 2023,” Brown and Portman said. “We can think of no better place to locate one or more of those models than at the established, award-winning plant at Lordstown GM has suggested looking for opportunities to move workers to other plants, but the number of jobs in the GM network are finite, and plenty of workers will not want to pack up and move from their homes.”
The full op-ed can be read here.
COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE:
GM to Close Lordstown Plant In March
Inside Union Hall, GM Announcement ‘A shot in the Gut’
Amid GM Fallout, Leaders Focus on Next Steps
Workers Face Uncertainty After GM Decision
Chevy Dealers Not Surprised by Cruze Cancellation
Brown Calls GM Decision ‘Corporate Greed’
Ryan on Plant Closing: ‘New Black Monday’
Read Full Text of GM Closings Announcement
Ryan Wants Congressional Hearing on GM Tax Windfall
Contract Talks Will Decide Plants Fate, UAW Says
Portman Warns Trump Against Retaliation; Strategy Planning Begins
Youngstown Leaders Consider a Future with or without GM
Brown to Speak with Trump Regarding GM
Prayer Vigil Today, Planning Tomorrow to Support Plant
Ryan Presses Case for Lordstown to GM’s Barra
Prayer Vigil Holds Out Hope for GM Lordstown
Economic Development Leaders Address GM Situation
Agencies Help Displaced GM Workers Find Jobs
Lawmakers Press Barra on Future of GM Lordstown
Students Write Letters to Barra; GM Files WARN Notice
WATCH VIDEO:
Leaders React to Lordstown Closing
‘3 Minutes With’ Greg Greenwood, Chevrolet dealer
‘3 Minutes With’ Dave Green, UAW Local 1112 president
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
