Time Marches On

It was the summer of 1983 and most of the autoworkers from the Pontiac Fisher Body Plant and the Pontiac Motors Facility had been laid off for over two years.  That’s when the call came to report to the Williams Lake School in Waterford to attend teamwork and orientation training prior to hiring into what would become our future, Orion Assembly Center in Orion Township, Michigan.  The facility had been under construction on the site of an old airstrip for several years.  There were a few salaried employees working out of trailers and UAW Skilled Trades Members inside the empty plant working to finish up construction of the facility that would eventually house a workforce of approximately seven thousand team members.  Later that fall of ’83, the first hourly employees were brought in to begin start of production the following spring.

The following 40 years includes a rich history of hard work and innovation by a workforce that was second to none in a very competitive industry. From being the first facility to build five car lines on a single production line while winning J.D. Power Awards to hosting Oprah Winfrey and then producing General Motor’s first mass produced electric vehicle, the plant and workforce really led the way.

And so now the next chapter of the Orion Story begins.  As the Williams Lake School, opened in 1945, meets its day with the wrecking ball; the facility it so proudly supported has gained in size and responsibility.  Orion Assembly is a big part GM’s New Green Future and will soon assemble a mixture of vehicles that will provide customers with reliable transportation into the foreseeable future.

Orion Assembly and UAW Local 5960 have been around for over 40 years now.  That means that some autoworkers, that have only ever worked at Orion Assembly, are now eligible for retirement. Well done Orion Assembly and UAW Local 5960!  No job is more important than this one.  Our credo was, Great Cars, Built by Great People and we did all this while supporting the local community and our customers. We always felt after working on a customers’ vehicle that we were riding along with them and their family.

And so now a new generation of autoworkers will carry the torch into the future.  My friends and I, mostly retired, will cheer you on as you do great things for The UAW, GM and our customers. Best of luck to all of you; now and into the future. Although we can’t be there to advise you we have left some pretty deep tracks for you to follow and it all started at Williams Lake School.