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Dec 14, 2008 10:48 pm US/Central
Arlington GM Workers Uncertain About Future
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Workers at the GM plant in Arlington hope President Bush comes back from Iraq, ready to help with emergency aid for the U.S. Auto Injury.
This after a 14-billion dollar plan to help Detroit's big three auto makers failed to pass the Senate on Thursday.
Local union workers met Sunday and talked about their uncertain future.
GM dealers would like to see cars sold and removed off the lot. Local assembly workers would like to keep them coming. But right now, they're wondering if GM can even make payroll.
Pauline Mims, a worker at the Arlington GM plant helps her 7-year-old daughter but wonders who will help her?
"We need to save what we have and worry about whether or not our pay will be cut. Are we actually going to be getting paid?"
Their Christmas will have a lean look this year. "This year we gotta scale way back."
Pauline and other local workers already face three weeks of layoffs in 2009. On Thursday, Republican senators balked at the 14-billion dollar bailout, demanding wage concessions. Pauline says she's willing to take a pay cut, but only to a certain point. "If I had to cut my salary some, I can see some but to ask me to cut my salary in half is absolutely ridiculous."
Local assembly workers now hope President Bush will tap into the 700-billion-dollar Wall Street bailout, and send some money to them.
Enrique Flores, the local UAW president, says the money will help everyone. "It is to help keep us going and if we go under we'll have no money to spend. we're not going to spend it on products out there. Sooner or later it's going to reach everybody. It's going to impact everybody."
Workers will be laid off two weeks in January, and one week in March. They can collect unemployment equal to 80 percent of their net pay.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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