interesting article on the closing of the GM plant
I read that the last Chevy Cruze has already been built. Lordstown plant closes down on March 8th.
So if you want a brand new Cruze, it’s now or never.
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Interesting article but IDK why they throw words like “iconic” around.
What is so iconic about an old GM plant in the rust belt?
They are being kind during tough times.
Iconic sounds so much better than outdated or dilapidated.
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I lived in Pittsburgh for a while and my wife is from Cleveland. I used to make the trek up the Ohio Turnpike 2-3 times a month and passed Lordstown. That area is going to take a major hit, but I would not say it is “iconic” by any stretch.
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The title of the article doesn’t refer to the plant as iconic, but rather the automotive factory worker position as iconic.
I feel bad for everybody who lost their jobs, and for the secondary impacts that the area will feel.
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I realize this may not be the politically correct response, BUT I do feel people should take a bit more initiative and personal responsibility. Anyone who works in manufacturing should always try to have a back up plan. It’s been well documented how these jobs come and go dependent on market conditions and the economy. Someone working in auto assembly should know this better than anyone.
The person in this story had a well paying job for 24 years. That’s an incredible run. I’m in my 5th job in 10 years. Admittedly mostly by choice. I’ve learnt and grown a lot in each position and have continually built up skills, education and salary. It just isn’t feasible for have a job for life anymore and people should always try to think of other ways to make money if and when they need to.
I know this is a LOT easier said than done though.
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As I understand things, GM is offering UAW jobs at other plants for many affected workers. However those jobs would require the employee to relocate. So depending on their family situation they may or may not be able to go for that.
There have been several stories about this plant over the past few days. Overriding theme seems to be many employees were getting paid more than they could get in any other job. It’s an obvious issue. No company is going to prosper long term paying way above market wages. Someone else is going to pay people less for same job. The Washington Post article from yesterday was indicated many of these $22 an hour jobs or even $30 an hour job were essentially unskilled.
Throughout American history moving has been the answer when jobs are in one place and people in the other but we actually have less mobility for jobs now then at almost any other time in our history.
As for personal responsibility, most people want everyone else to be personally responsible but not themselves. It’s like small government for everyone else but big government for me.
No that’s not true. They could work for the government !
One door closes, another opens aka Future Home of Tesla East Coast manufacturing …
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Government jobs can be cushy and wasteful but they usually don’t have great salaries. Someone with a high school education who worked on the old UAW pay scale is going to be paid way less working for the feds in Ohio than working for GM. You are talking GS-5 to GS-7 with no locality pay for most of the state.
Even in this article, GM worker who became a federal prison guard (a really tough job) is only making 20 bucks an hour. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/business/economy/from-22-an-hour-to-11-gm-job-cuts-in-ohio-show-a-hot-economy-is-still-leaving-parts-of-america-behind/2019/03/05/241b2784-3b80-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html
Law enforcement/fire rescue has sort of been immune from the anti public sector attitude. If you look at a list of state/local employees making more than 100k in pretty much every state, you will find police and fire is the only real place where people without four year college degrees make big money.
It also depends on where you are and what you do too. To someone with no special skills, $20/hr might be a lot. I drove by an In and Out the other day and they were offering their staff a starting salary of $16/hr. Bottom line is that people should have back up plans, stay in school if they can and maximize what they can do.
You can be poor, but you don’t have to be stupid.
Dayton used to be GM/Detroit South but I think all of the plants have finally shut down
Cinci used to have the big Firebird/Camaro plant and that folded in the late 80s
I think all the NE Ohio GM plants are now gone too
Amazing the amount of state resources used over 4 decades to prop up the UAW and GM auto plants that eventually have all closed - instead of being redirected to the tech industry where NCR and Dayton (original home of Thomas Watson @IBM and USAFC) could have been a mini Silicon Valley
Yikes! Sorry to hear that!
(Kidding…If you’re from Pgh, this would make sense 
)
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Heh. I only went to school in Pittsburgh. Didn’t grow up there.
I know…big Steelers/Browns rivalry thing. Not so much recently since they’ve been a laughing stock since returning to the league.
Lol…Cleveland’s Motto has always been “maybe next year.”
Good luck!
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