34,000 Jobs for Michigan

We finally made it back home to Michigan, and spent today meeting with UAW leadership up at Region 1C in Lansing.  Members up there are real excited about the new assembly plant in Delta Township that builds GM’s crossovers: the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.

Watch video clips of our interviews with Region 1C Director Duane Zuckschwerdt and other UAW leaders!

The new plant and vehicles in it are really a success story for the region. Doug Rademacher, President of UAW Local 602 informed us that they’re the biggest vehicles on the road that achieve 25 mpg.  They have all the bells and whistles of a BMW SUV, but they seat more people (8 max), get higher fuel economy, and are $20,000-$30,000 cheaper. As Doug said, “What more could you ask for?”

From our end, we were especially interested to learn about all the advanced technology in the crossovers and where it’s coming from. 

According to Duane Zuckschwerdt, Director of Region 1C, the engine is a new efficient design, built at GM’s Flint South Engine plant.  GM invested $300M expanding the plant for the new engine, created 300 jobs and helped secured an additional 3,000 in the process.  Duane has memories of that engine plant being shut down back in 1982 when oil prices went up and the plant was only producing large V8’s. He’s happy now to see GM’s recent investments in the plant and new efficient, flex-fuel engines that won’t be as vulnerable to high gas prices. We'll be posting video clips of our conversation with him soon.

Transmissions for the crossovers are also built in Michigan, at GM’s Warren Transmission plant. GM began building the fuel-efficient six-speeds there after a $350M investment last year that saved over 500 jobs. 

In Delta Township, GM hired over 2,500 UAW-organized workers to assemble the vehicles, and according the state government, indirectly created over 28,000 jobs in the surrounding area.  All together, that’s at least 34,000 jobs for Michigan! 

As an additional achievement, the new Delta Township plant was awarded a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. It’s the first auto manufacturing facility to achieve this distinction.  The plant catches and uses rainwater from the roof, has an efficient lighting system, captures braking energy from vehicles on the line, and exhibits educational nature trails around the perimeter.  So, it’s a green plant with a green product.  We definitely like that.

To find out more about these vehicles or their engine, visit:
Saturn Outlook
GMC Acadia
GM's Press Release about the Flint engines