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May 17, 2009 9:31 pm US/Central
GM Workers Nervous As Plant Layoff Begins
Selena Hernandez
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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CBS
The General Motors plant in Arlington sits quiet, as some 2,500 of its employees brace for what's shaping up to be a rough road ahead for the ailing automaker.
"Everything's up in the air right now," GM employee James McCormick said.
The plant will remain closed for the next eight weeks. That means unemployment for all workers. Many say they fear if they'll still have a job at the end of that long stretch.
"We we need this. We need our jobs, our families need us right now," Marquetta Hawkins said. She's a 13-year veteran at the plant.
Local United Auto Workers president Enrique Flores says the uncertainty and anxiety weighs heavy on the employees' minds.
"Going out is the easy part, getting back is harder. There's always the uncertainty – are you going to come back at the time they told you to report back to work?"
For employee Tammy Lang, the mandatory furlough is especially tough, as both she and her husband are now left without a steady paycheck.
"I have seven children, my husband is also a United Auto Worker – it means rough road."
Several employees gathered at the Union Hall Sunday afternoon, eager for news on impending negotiations with GM executives.
"If we have nothing written down, then the courts will decide. But as long as we have a contract, we'll be alright."
The economically crippled corporation shut down the Arlington plant, and others across the country, as it desperately tries to retool and reorganize its operation, to meet the government imposed June first deadline. Yet, caught in the middle of the financial struggle are the workers who are just struggling to survive.
"Everything we've worked so hard for could be taken away from us."
At the core of the Union's negotiations are health care benefits for retirees, wages and pension plans. GM has already received about $13 billion in government backed bailout funds, and with time running out, it appears bankruptcy is becoming more of a viable option.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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