Poletown plant saved

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck has apparently dodged a financial bullet.
Last week, GM reversed its recent decision to close the Poletown plant in its tentative labor agreement with the UAW.
Several months ago, GM said it was closing down four of its plants, including the Poletown plant. Then, when the UAW strike began a month ago against GM, an offer was made to keep the Hamtramck plant open.
And then, during the strike, GM again said it was going to shut down the plant.
Confused?
Here is how it unfolded in a nutshell:
Poletown will be closed this January.
Strike begins, Poletown will remain open.
Strike continues, Poletown will now be closed.
Strike reaches tentative settlement, Poletown will remain open.
If your head is still spinning, welcome to the world of high-stakes corporate labor negotiation.
GM also now says it will invest billions into the plant, and will be producing electric-powered pick-up trucks there.
The only thing that could gum up the deal is if UAW workers vote to reject the proposed labor contract. That vote was expected this week after The Review went to press.
Keeping the plant open is good news for Hamtramck. The city has been receiving $800,000 a year from GM in lieu of property taxes. A portion of the plant is on the Hamtramck side of the Detroit border.
With a yearly budget of $16 million, the loss of that GM revenue would have been a catastrophic financial hit for the city. It’s assumed that deal will continue.
But can city officials breathe easy now?
City Manager Kathy Angerer declined to comment on the matter until the UAW-GM contract is signed.
But she did say that GM’s proposed investment in the plant is good news.
“General Motors’ multi-billion-dollar investment into production of the electric truck and jobs for the Detroit-Hamtramck facility will certainly be a benefit to the city for many years to come,” Angerer said.
Oct. 25, 2019