Hamtramck will have to face likelihood of losing GM plant
At this point it appears General Motors really has no plan to keep the Poletown Plant open.
At a town hall meeting last Saturday, Mayor Karen Majewski basically said so.
In a Detroit News story, she was quoted as saying:
“In the end, it’s only going to be an economic decision, not one that takes into consideration our families, jobs, schools and safety.
“They did this in 1980 when they destroyed homes to build the facility. Did GM care? No, they sacrificed little old ladies, their churches and homes for that plant.
“They did not care, and I don’t think there’s any reason they do now. Hamtramck is an afterthought.”
The mayor and the city manager have been talking with GM about what it will do with the plant – especially if it is closed. It appears those talks have gone nowhere.
There is a lot at stake for the city.
GM has been paying about $850,000 per year to Hamtramck in lieu of paying property taxes.
Hamtramck will now be forced to take drastic steps in whittling down its budgets, and that means some unpopular budget cuts will be made.
The state has had to step in twice before, to help Hamtramck climb out of financial problems by appointing emergency managers. Funny thing, though: those managers never addressed the city’s long-term financial problems.
They made the easy cost-cutting measures, and then coasted for several months collecting a paycheck from taxpayers.
Let’s hope with a new governor now in office, some real constructive and creative thinking can be done to permanently keep Hamtramck financially sound.
March 29, 2019
One Response to Hamtramck will have to face likelihood of losing GM plant
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Roadman
April 3, 2019 at 12:27 am
Some points to ponder:
There is a moratorium barring plant “idlings” in the UAW contract with GM. GM’s plant closing as initially announced is a violation of the moratorium General Motors had agreed to.
When GM received $8.9 billion in U.S. taxpayer bailout funding during its bankruptcy, it signed an agreement obligating itself to honor the Energy Independence and Security Act requiring the automaker to build fuel efficient autos GM has violated this provision as well as they are shutting down plants that manufacture the Volt and Cruse vehicles and parts for those autos, while GM focuses on production of the more gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and trucks.
General Motors is also closing the Oshawa plant in Canada despite the fact that the Canadian government had provided billions in bailout funding during GM’s bankruptcy with the understanding that GM would preserve Canadian manufacturing operations and the jobs they supported.
GM receives $3.4 billion in State of Michigan MEGA tax credits which they can deduct from their taxes every year thru the 2032 tax year. These tax credits were provided upon the condition that general Motors maintain its workforce. Gm is breaching the terms of those tax credits via their plant closings and layoffs that are projected for the Poletown plant and Warren Transmission.
Let us rise up together to turn this situation around!
http://www.moratorium-mi.org