An effort to keep the General Motors plant at Lordstown operating brought nearly 300 workers, local business leaders, and political figures to the Auto Workers union hall for the “Drive it Home" campaign.
“Drive it Home” refers to selling GM on continuing to build vehicles at Lordstown, even if the Chevy Cruz goes away in the face of a declining small car market.
Lt. Gov.-elect Jon Husted told the gathering the new state administration is committed to the case.
“One of the very first visits that Mike DeWine and I are going to make is to Detroit to General Motors to talk to them about their future,” Husted said.
Sen. Sherrod Brown was also on hand, and said he has talked with GM CEO Mary Bara.
“They’re keeping it pretty close to the vest and we continue to talk with them, as I continue to talk with the White House, which has remained pretty quiet on this,” Brown said. “But I’m not going to give up.”
GM has already cut two of the three shifts at Lordstown.
Danny Morgan, the Lordstown UAW Shop Chairman, says union members want to prove their willingness to work.
“This part is just another piece of the puzzle, to send a message on just how serious we are that we want to keep things going here in Lordstown,” Morgan said. “We’re willing to do things to be creative. We’re willing to do things to keep the company profitable. We just want a fair shake to get our members back to work.”
