Politicians close ranks to protect auto plant (Dennis Kucinich summit)

[Algorem]

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/ispol/1130327741236290.xml?ispol&coll=2

Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Alison Grant
Plain Dealer Reporter

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich hosted an "emergency summit" Tuesday to drum up ideas for protecting the auto industry in Greater Cleveland, while softening the impact of cuts in employee health and pension benefits.

The meeting followed recent announcements that Ford Motor Co. may close plants in Northeast Ohio, that Delphi Corp. has filed for bankruptcy protection and wants to slash wages by 63 percent while reducing health care and benefits to retirees, and that General Motors Corp. plans to cut health benefits by $1 billion...

Anne Marie Gattari, a spokeswoman for Ford in Dearborn, Mich., declined to respond to the Cleveland event except to reiterate what Chief Executive Bill Ford said last week: The company is working on a restructuring plan and will announce plant closings in January.

Kucinich is hoping that grass- roots clamor and research showing the productivity of the regional auto industry will produce a save for Brook Park like the one that kept open Cleveland's Defense Finance and Accounting Service office...

[notadmblnd]

1. All I know is that workers have been making consessions to

auto companies since the late 70's and their financial outlook never improves. What happens to the money they make? They're not paying it all out in benefits. When I see massive layoffs in upper management (the crroks who made the mess) then we'll talk more consessions.

[Algorem]

2. strange,isn't it?and all those tax breaks they've gotten too.

[Kolesar]

3. How about a state-sponsored health care plan?

take the expense off of the companies with huge numbers of retirees.

[eridani]

4. Kucinich has been recommending universal health care for years

It would probably help. The destruction of our skill base could wind up destroying us.