NEWS: Another Pitch At General Motors

[PawneeSports]

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1000 KTOK-AM Radio News Article
Another Pitch At General Motors
Written by: Bill Bateman
Date: 02-20-2006 at 10:26am

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One State Representative plans to go to Detroit to convince GM officials they're wrong.

State representative Richard Morrissette plans to travel to Detroit within the next thirty days. The idea is to convince GM officials their decision to idle and eventually close the Oklahoma City plant is more expensive than leaving it open.

Morrissette says he met with officials of UAW Local 1999 and State Treasurer Scott Meacham Friday, and believes he has the support of both.

In fact, a number of union officials could be traveling with Morrissette.

At this point Morrissette plans to pay for the trip out of his own pocket.

He believes taking advantage of the State's incentive proposal could save the company money. Closing the plant would cost GM hundreds of millions of dollars over five years.

Morrissette wants to convince company officials to bring a new product line to the Oklahoma City plant, which he says is the most efficient in the entire GM system.

[FR Turbo]

Interesting. I wonder what 'new product line' he's talking about.

[PawneeSports]

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Rep. Morrissette Working Hard To Keep GM Plant Open
Contact: State Rep. Richard Morrissette
Capitol: (405) 557-7404
Oklahoma City: (405) 634-7166

OKLAHOMA CITY (January 4, 2006) -- A team of city and state representatives have been working feverishly over the last several days to develop a plan to not only keep General Motors’ Oklahoma City assembly plant open, but also to make it more efficient and modern, State Rep. Richard Morrissette said today.

Morrissette and members of United Auto Workers Union Local 1999 have met with State Treasurer Scott Meacham and representatives from the Governor’s Office over the last two days to hash out the plan, which Morrissette said will be presented to GM officials later this month.

While the specifics have not been released, Morrissette said the plan will modernize the assembly plant to make it more productive and fluid to changing market trends.

“We are busy working on this plan as we speak,” said Morrissette, D-Oklahoma City. “By modernizing what GM admits is already one of the most productive plants in the nation we will be in a position to avoid closure in the future. The plant will be able to effortlessly change from production of one vehicle to another if necessary.”

Last month, Morrissette and UAW representatives met with U.S. Rep. Tom Cole and representatives from General Motors to promote alternatives to the impending shutdown of the plant.

“With a ‘win-win’ attitude, I believe the state of Oklahoma, private businesses and GM can turn what was once considered a sure defeat into a major victory,” said Morrissette. “We must all work together to keep this vital economic engine operating for the prosperity of the state. We have too much to offer and too much to lose to just give up. This is not a lost cause.”

More than 400 GM employees live in Morrissette’s district.

[Mmgord77]

My dad is a GM employee of 29 years. They have been the most profitable plant for many years, until the envoy and trailblazer. Just bad timing to get those vehicles. They have also won several safety awards company-wide. That too is a big plus. If they can convince them to put a new vehicle into production, that would be great. They just installed, last year, a brand new multi-million dollar paint shop and new equipment elsewhere. The biggest thing I think our state is going to have to fight against is PRIDE. They have made their decision and taken the flak and made their explanations. Now, even if it would be smart to keep the OKC plant open, they are going to have to go back on all of the previous stuff. That is the biggest obstacle, in my opinion.

[DusterDad]

Morrissette and members of United Auto Workers Union Local 1999 have met with State Treasurer Scott Meacham and representatives from the Governor’s Office over the last two days to hash out the plan, which Morrissette said will be presented to GM officials later this month.

His first mistake is dealing with the fox in the hen house. Only way Morrissette will be successful is if he loses all ties with the UAW. They are the biggest part of the problem for the Big 3 auto makers whom all understand it to be. Pure and simple, under the guise of restructuring, they are all looking at lessoning that burden. In order to be competitive with others that don't have as much overhead brought on by a big Union base, they must lesson it. Anytime you pay more unproductive workers(retired) than you do productive workers(current), you are based on a socialistic system. Those systems have always been proven to fail and now with the slipping market share(costs too high) they are proving to be the case again within the bloated and overbearing weight caused by domestic automakers past deals with Unions.

[OKLAHOMAMOSES]

Well i guess it is a done deal now! I hate to see anyone lose his or her job, Dusterdad is right on the money concerning this one, and believe it or not i've been a Teamster for 20yrs! But the truth is the truth, we will pray for all the families involved.:( :(