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Thousands Celebrate Lordstown-Built Cavalier, Sunfire"
By George NelsonLORDSTOWN, Ohio -- When Maureen Midgley came to the General Motors assembly plant, workers and management weren't certain the plant would have a future. "I guess in life there are a lot of things that are uncertain. Herman Maass told me to come, he had a lot of hope for the plant, and I have to tell you it's been six interesting years," she said Saturday afternoon after ceremonies to retire the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire. "To have something like this now, the culmination of all that, it's kind of emotional...It's a lot of hard work and you don't know what it's going to be when you get started, and at the end you're pretty darn happy with what you've got."Midgley, who succeeded Maass as plant manager, was among the speakers at today's ceremony that also marked the debut of the GM Lordstown's new product, the Chevrolet Cobalt. During the event, held in conjunction with the plant's annual benefit car show and attended by thousands, plant employees unveiled the new SS Supercharged Cobalt Coupe.The mood was as bright as the summer morning. Speaking on a tent-covered platform in front of the assembly plant, Midgley said while there were "strong emotions" for the J-car -- many plant employees have dedicated the better part of their working lives to the car -- excitement is building for the Cobalt. And while production of the Cobalt is important to the economic health of the Mahoning Valley, its significance goes beyond, she added."GM and the international union will demonstrate, with our help, that together an American car company and a UAW workforce can engineer and produce the best premium small car available in the market," Midgley declared. John Buttermore, GM North America vice president of labor relations, recalled coming to the Lordstown plant two years ago to announce the Trumbull County facility had been awarded a new product and GM would invest more than $500 million to remodel the complex for production of the Cobalt. "The results that you've produced here are what makes those investments reality,' he said, citing a list of quality and productivity improvements the plant has made. "This is the type of performance that makes it a great plant and the kind of performance that's required for this to be a successful and competitive plant."Lloyd Mahaffey, regional director of the United Auto Workers Union, acknowledged more work must be done but expressed his confidence. "What we're doing today, we have to do better next year, and if we continue with that attitude, we're going to be here well into the future announcing new products in the Valley," he said.Ben Strickland, UAW Local 1112 shop chairman, acknowledged the sacrifices made by plant members to land the new product, while his Local 1714 counterpart, Ken Padgett, pledged that workers in the stamping plant would surpass GM's expectations. "We do not intend to follow the lead of anyone. We intend to lead -- lead the division, lead the corporation," Padgett promised. Jim Graham, president of Local 1112, began his remarks by saying he was somewhat at a loss for words. He recalled that eight years ago, "when we were told that we didn't have an automobile, we didn't have a product," plant leaders and UAW members got together and decided to force GM to award Lordstown a new product"by being the best plant in the country." That goal achieved, Graham pledged that GM would have a "world class quality car" when the Cobalt rolls of the line.Graham also praised the efforts of the community, which rallied behind the Bring It Home campaign launched by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber. "This community got behind our plant membership -- big time. This show is for you. ... This is our thank you for supporting us at a time when we needed support," he said. "But understand something -- if the people inside the four walls of our plant didn't work very hard, with dedication and pride, we'd never be here today. ... This Cobalt belongs to our membership." Jim Kaster, UAW Local 1714 president, added his thanks to the people of the Mahoning Valley, and particularly the leadership of the regional chamber and its president, Tom Humphries, as well as local and state officeholders.U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, who served as Ohio's governor from 1991 to 1999, said he, too, has "a strong emotional tie" to the facility. "I always felt the anxiety in the air, like the cloud on an otherwise sunny day, about Lordstown and its future, and the psychological impact it had on the mood of the Valley." Voinovich recalled that when he became governor he called GM's then-chairman, Robert Stemple, and told him that the state wanted to do everything it could to assist the automaker, which was warning of possible plant closings around the country. Stemple asked him to keep the state's 20-year-old promise to build Ohio Turnpike exits at Lordstown -- which he did."I really believe that if we hadn't built those turnpike exits back at that time, we would not be here today,' Voinovich said. He later added, "The real reason" that GM made its decision to launch the Cobalt at Lordstown "is its world-class workers. The Lordstown work force can compete -- and beat -- any work force in the world." Voinovich also pledged to do what he could to ensure American workers stay competitive in manufacturing, and said he would continue efforts to prevent outsourcing of U.S. jobs, and to stop nations such as China from manipulating their currency, stealing intellectual property and counterfeiting U.S. products.Voinovich's successor in the governor's mansion, Bob Taft, said his No. 1 economic development project when taking office was keeping GM at Lordstown, and the state put a "strong package of incentives" to make that happen. "Today's celebration demonstrates once again that Ohio is the best place to make products for the North American marketplace, so our message to the world is come to Ohio, come to the Mahoning Valley," he said.U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17, who described today as "clearly the greatest day" of his short political career, said the effort to attract the new product to Lordstown will serve as the model "to rebuild our community," including the current initiative to retain the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township. The freshman congressman predicted that 30 years from now, historians would point to this day as the start of the rebirth of the Mahoning Valley.Ryan's colleague, U.S Rep. Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6, drew hearty laughs when he declared that he "had absolutely nothing to do with this wonderful day," but praised the work of those who had played a role. Strickland's congressional district was redrawn to include southern Mahoning County and Columbiana County with the 2002 election. "But I want to tell you my brief experience with this Valley has convinced me that people here may not make steel as they used to, but they have steel in their backbone and in their spines, and they will not give up, they will not give out, they will not give in," he exclaimed. 'That's what this day symbolizes to me."Joe Spielman, GM vice president and general manager for vehicle manufacturing, said he couldn't help but reflect as the various vehicles came in for the car show and the 80 years of manufacturing history they represent, and noted that they probably don't do things like this in Japan and Korea. "This is where the automobile started," he said. "This is where the automobile became part of our way of life." Spielman also underscored the importance of small cars, explaining that if younger folks are happy with their early car, as they get older, "You can usually move them up within your own company." The Cobalt, he is confident, will continue to be good introductory vehicles for GM.The ceremony was capped by a drawing for the final Pontiac Sunfire produced at the plant in a raffle that was open to current and past GM Lordstown employees. The winner was Nakita Cruse of Howland.In an interview following the ceremony, the regional chamber's Humphries praised the businesses and Mahoning Valley residents who joined in the Bring It Home campaign for putting aside partisanship and focusing their energies on what needed to be done."It's hard when you go into those kinds of things because you're not sure of the outcome," Humphries observed. "There are a lot of risks because what you're trying to do is mobilize and educate the population, and if you make a wrong move it could be detrimental. General Motors is very focused on the attitude of the communities in which they have plants, and had we not come off on the right step with the right attitude and the right approach, it could have been a big concern."GM's Buttermore said the Cavalier has been a great product for automaker, but having a new small-car product gives the company the opportunity to upgrade and modernize. "It's done a good job for us," he said of the Cavalier. "Now we've got a new product to lead the way and continue to do good things for us," he said. "In this marketplace with the competitiveness, the competitive situation, there were days when it was pretty close."On Aug. 2, Chevrolet announced pricing and pre-order incentives for the new Cobalt (read story). Visit the Chevrolet Cobalt: www.chevrolet.com/cobalt"