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Fight for KCAP
future goes on with new urgency By There’s no doubt
about it, our local suffered a serious blow when the Manufacturing
Jobs Act died in the Missouri Legislature last month. The Jobs Act would
allow qualified suppliers and manufacturers, such as Ford, that create
or retain jobs in the state to keep a portion of withheld state income
taxes. That could have saved Ford as much as $15 million. Passage of the
incentive package is important to Local 249 members because Ford is
moving production of the Escape to Bringing a new
product to KCAP will require Ford to invest millions in our plant.
Ford promised us a new vehicle when our local voted for contract
concessions, but with the current state of the economy and continued
weakness in the auto market, nothing is a sure thing. The governors and
legislatures in both Only in However, when
Republicans captured the governor’s office under Matt Blunt and took
over the state assembly, our state lost its coveted position – and
the good union jobs that go with it. As many of our
members know only too well, the Ford Hazelwood plant closed. The
Chrysler plants in Fenton, on the eastern side of the state, closed
too. The only other remaining assembly plant in In 2004, auto
manufacturing provided nearly 40,000 jobs in our state. By the fall of
2008, there were just 26,000 auto jobs left in the state. That’s a
decline of 35 percent in just four years. Matt Bartle, who
represents many of our members who live in his The bill may have
died in the legislature, but we haven’t stopped fighting to keep the
Kansas City Assembly plant open. We’re working with Gov. Nixon –
who understands just how important our plant is to the state’s
overall economy – to see what incentives the governor can authorize
on his own initiative. We have been in constant contact with Gov.
Nixon, and his office is talking to Ford and to Bob King, director of
the UAW’s Ford Dept. We hope to hear an announcement from Gov. Nixon
soon. The legislature
may have failed in its job, but our members haven’t. The Kansas City
Assembly Plant is among the most productive of all auto assembly
plants in What we do on the
job is only part of the picture. Our members have to be ready to take
political action to provide Ford with every incentive possible to keep
our plant open. I will be sending
out e-mail alerts to members to let them know how they can help. If
you are interested in receiving informational e-mails please stop by
the union hall and sign up. Union members can’t be bystanders in the
fight to bring a new product to KCAP. We have to be informed, aware,
and ready to take action.
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