Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Well its official, we are working on three shifts!  There has been a lot of excitement around the launch of the new Chevrolet Cruze.  We just had a wonderful 40 year celebration. All of the transfers are in place and getting adjusted to their new local union.  We will be having elections at our location for new Committeepersons, and November elections are just around the corner.

I would like to talk a bit about elections.  In Ohio early voting (in-person absentee) runs from September 30 through November 3.  So, in less than a couple of months Ohioans will be able to cast their vote.  Make sure you read the literature on the candidates and look at those that support working people.  I truly believe that President Obama in doing a much better job than President Bush had done.  Especially considering the state of our nation when President Obama took office.  He has been the most worker friendly president in my lifetime.  By enforcing trade policies, making changes to the NLRB by executive order and having labor friendly appointments, we finally have a President that gets it.

Another politician that gets it is our Ohio Attorney General, Richard Cordray.  He has stepped it up for small business, the building trades, law enforcement, and Ohioans rights.  He has attached those that try to scam hardworking people in our state.  Richard Cordray has also taken a hard line in the growing threat of Asian Carp to the Great Lakes economy and ecosystem.  This threat recently became critical when a live specimen was found just six miles from Lake Michigan.  As a person who likes to fish, I think this is great.  Ohio is home to a $10 billion-a-year Lake Erie tourism industry that supports 114,000 jobs, the equivalent of Ohio’s motor vehicle industry. Attorney General Cordray is committed to protecting these jobs for Ohioans, and exploring all legal avenues to prevent the invasion of this species into the Great Lakes.

Our Governor ted Strickland is also up for election and has been an asset to our state and working people. An advocate for small business, a green economy, and manufacturing, our Governor has done an excellent job.  In fact, he had helped make investments possible for GM in Lordstown and across the state.  Governor Strickland i9s running against a former Lehman Brothers Managing Director, John Kasich.  Make no mistake; Kasich is not for working folks!  His interests lie with Wall Street, not Main Street.

Another Wall Street hero, Rob Portman, is running for the US Senate against our friend Lee Fisher.  There is no doubt that Portman help tens of thousands of Ohioans out of their jobs.  Congressman Portman should be running from the 20 years he spent in Washington pushing trade policies that outsourced Ohio jobs. While Lee Fisher has been fighting to create and retain jobs in Ohio, Portman worked with George Bush to ship more jobs out of our state.  In this race the choice is clear, Lee Fisher for US Senate.  With Brown and Fisher as our US Senators, the working class in Ohio will prosper.

Our community and state will prosper with the right political leaders in place.  Congressman Tim Ryan, Congressman Charlie Willison, State Senators Capri Cafaro, Joe Schovoni, House Representatives Bob Hagen, Tom Letson, Ron Gurberry, and hopefully Sean O’Brian will all help working folks in Ohio move forward.  Please stay tuned in the plant and at your union hall for the political literature that is sure to come in the months ahead.  Use your power, VOTE!

What else will help us move forward?  It’s our membership!!!  I would like to welcome all of the new UAW 1714 members to our plant and community.  We work hard and play hard here in Lordstown and we are glad to have new members on our team. Your union is only as strong as its members, so let’s stand together and get it done.

One important area where we know we need to get it done is with the launch of the Chevrolet Cruze.  A successful launch will not only make us look good and feel good, but it will bring us years of dividends in terms of work.  I know I want to see UAW 1714 around for another 40 years and it is up to all of us to help that happen.  Putting a car it the market with issues will not help our cause.  Getting it right will.  So, when we see a quality issue PLEASE let your team leader know about it.  If nothing is done, let me know about it and I will get the right people involved.  I know we can get this right if we have the proper support.  I will work to make sure that support is there.  We have the best workforce in the world and we need to embrace that.  I believe that the three shift schedule is here to stay.  I also believe that the Cruze is no joke and will give us a car we can be supper proud to build.

Finally, I want to mention a retiree that has spent countless hours donating his time for this local union. While many people have gone above and beyond to make our 40 year celebration a success, Dave Kimbill is someone that deserves all of our thanks.  When you see Dave, thank him.  Cutting down branches, making bulletin boards, fixing the bar, selling ticket everyplace, stopping by the union hall EVERY DAY doing numerous things to help us prepare for our celebration was above and beyond any dedication I have seen. So Dave, thank you!

Together we can make anything happen.  United we bargain, divided we beg.  Believe it!

Dave