ORION ASSEMBLY; FACTORY OF THE FUTURE

It was a long time ago when many of us went to class at the Williams Lake School in Waterford to learn how to work in the “Factory of the Future” Orion Assembly. Most of us had been off for more than two years. Like many of my co-workers, I was working two and a half jobs to try and make ends meet when I got the call. Unbeknown to me, my local and the International UAW had been working every day to get me back to work. Many of our young members inside the plant today worry about coming back after the re-tool but the UAW has a long memory and our local leadership will not rest until you are all back.
Many cars have passed the pay-point at B-52 on the flat-track since we sat in those crowded classrooms near the end of a warm summer and were schooled in the basics of working in a “Team Concept” plant. A place where union folks had a say as to how things were done and a place where union and management worked together for a common goal, “Great Cars Built by Great People.” Believe me it wasn’t always perfect. The managers all wanted it to be like in the old plant where they were the ultimate authority and the committee wanted everyone to rely on them to solve every little issue. Come to find out we did have more of a say but we also had something else . . . responsibility. The members of UAW Local 5960 stepped up and accepted the responsibility of working in teams and Orion Assembly has been a leading GM plant ever since.
In the late eighties war broke out in the Middle East and Orion Assembly released soldiers to the conflict and then gave them a well deserved Hero’s welcome when they came safely home. In the 1990’s GM needed a plant and a workforce that could run five separate car lines and Orion stepped forward and did the job; winning a J.D. Power Award while doing it. When the events of 911 happened, the New York Police and Fire Departments needed new vehicles to replace the ones that had been destroyed during the attacks and Orion and UAW Local 5960 stepped up and built them . . . for free. Local 5960 even sent a one-man supply crew to New York to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts. Former Quality Network Rep. and recent retiree, Steve Thomson loaded his Chevy Blazer full with gloves, respirators and other supplies, donated from the plant, and spent two weeks helping the New York Fire Department. Local 5960 members are known for going above and beyond the call of duty.
Now General Motors has asked Orion to do what no other company or plant has been able to due for a long time, if ever, to build a small car inside America and make it for a profit. Make no doubt about this, Orion Assembly and UAW Local 5960 will step forward, like we always have, and blow the doors off this challenge. We can, and will make General Motors profitable making small cars inside this country. It’s not all about fewer people and cost cutting; a large part of it will be teamwork. Yes, we will need to be efficient and thrifty but we will also have to be smart and innovative. We have the workforce to do anything we want to do . . . if we work together as a team. Teamwork is magic; two plus two can equal five when you are really a team.
For all of us who sat in those classrooms at the Williams Lake School, so many years ago, this is our biggest challenge and will be our crowning achievement. You see we have been in training the past 25 years to prepare for just such an event and we will not fail. The company, the union and indeed the entire country is counting on us. The time is now and this is our 1937. Let’s kick the transplant’s asses back home to Japan starting in 2011.