FORT WAYNE, IND., AND FREMONT, CALIF. — Under skies as dark as his mood, General Motors autoworker Orval Plumlee woke early Monday morning and took a deep breath as he turned on the television.
The blue-collar Hoosier, who spent 31 years on the company's factory floors, thought he'd prepared himself for GM to file for bankruptcy. But seeing the news was still a shock. He and thousands of other GM employees now face the stark reality of working for a bankrupt company.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, June 03, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 2 inches; 66 words Type of Material: Correction
GM workers: An article in Tuesday's Business section about GM autoworkers quoted Virg Bernero, the mayor of Lansing, Mich., as saying, "We don't accept what Wall Street and the White House wants to tell us, that we live in a postindustrial society." The quote should have read, "We don't accept what Wall Street and Washington wants to tell us, that we live in a postindustrial society."
"I'm in shock," said Plumlee, 50, president of United Auto Workers Local 2209, which represents 2,600 workers at the GM truck assembly plant outside Fort Wayne, Ind. "Not knowing whether the future is going to get better doesn't make life any easier."
Across the country, autoworkers and their communities struggled to deal with the emotional and economic ripple effects from the automaker's historic bankruptcy filing Monday. The company announced plans to cut more than 20,000 jobs and close or temporarily halt production in 17 facilities. Eleven of the plants are in the country's heartland; seven of those are in Michigan.
The news prompted nearly 1,000 workers to gather at Michigan's state capitol in Lansing to rally against the closures and the erosion of the country's manufacturing base. Some waved signs that read "Keep It Made in America" while others chanted about preserving worker solidarity.
"This is a punch in the stomach for all of Michigan," Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said. "We don't accept what Wall Street and the White House wants to tell us, that we live in a postindustrial society. Enough is enough."
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Flint, Mich.
For Emily and Rick Hager, the bankruptcy marks the end of a four-generation tradition. The couple's families lived here and worked in GM factories for more than seven decades.
Emily's great-grandfather took part in the GM sit-down strike in Flint during the Great Depression. Rick, who has spent more than 14 years on GM assembly lines in Lansing and Flint, grew up with stories of how the auto industry built the country's middle class.
But as GM's future grew grim, the Hagers struggled with financial uncertainty and public scorn. On the Internet, bloggers sneered about greedy autoworkers and how they are to blame for GM's woes.
"You used to say you were a GM family and people looked at you with pride and confidence," said Emily, 34. "Now they look at us with pity. It breaks my heart."
