Here's What's Hot On CBS11TV.COM:
Nov 18, 2008 5:38 pm US/Central
Arlington GM Workers Rally For Auto Industry Aid
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
-
-
General Motors generic placeholder logo
CBS
Executives with General Motors are bargaining for a bailout in Washington today. Meanwhile, several hundred GM workers in Arlington are trying to drum up support for the $25 million bailout, which could help them keep their jobs.
At 4 p.m. the rally was well underway and the show of support for the bailout was overwhelming.
Many of the Arlington employees have been employed at the GM plant for years and could stand to lose it all, if an agreement isn't met.
The plant manager kicked off the rally by encouraging all employees to contact Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson and urging them to approve a bailout.
Cornyn and Hutchinson, along with other republican lawmakers, are hesitant to buy into a bailout and want to see more accountability among the automakers.
GM has been in a sales slump for some time now, most recently reporting a $2.5 billion deficit in the third quarter.
Employees at the rally gave their emotional pleas to keep their plant and their jobs.
Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck is in Washington trying to drive home the importance of government assistance. The mayor says the loss of GM could be catastrophic.
"If this plant goes down, it would wreak absolute havoc for our country and for our budget," he explained on Capitol Hill. "But again, that's not the most important things. It's about jobs. It's about America."
Congressman Joe Barton met with Cluck and several other mayors from around the country Monday to discuss plans to help the auto industry.
Officials from Barton's office say the congressman told them he supports the idea of extending a helping hand to the domestic automotive industry especially if the money comes from the $700 billion rescue plan previously passed by Congress.
Barton issued a statement that said in part – "I know the GM Assembly Plant in Arlington employs a world-class workforce and is a driving force in the DFW area's economic engine. I am not going to turn my back on the working men and women of America. However, throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at an ailing industry won't necessarily cure the problem."
The Barton spokesperson went on to say the congressman wants to make sure there are 'terms and conditions attached to any plan so that taxpayers are protected' and that while Barton hasn't made a final decision on how he will vote, he does 'want to help the auto industry'.
Forty miles west of Arlington, in Weatherford, the severity of the situation is perhaps best measured in the sheer silence inside the lobby at a long-standing GM dealership.
At Jerry's Chevrolet the showroom sits virtually empty. There's a lot full of cars, but no interested buyers. "We've seen a 30-percent decrease in sales," owner Jerry Durnat explained. "There'll undoubtedly be layoffs and people will have to take less money for what they've been doing."
So as lawmakers tool with ideas on how to get American automakers back on track, GM workers -- on both fronts -- stand united that their company will move in the right direction. Jerry's Chevrolet employee Donna Dickinson said, "You just hope it'll work itself out."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Hollywood Hair
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
