We made our way back to Illinois today, and stopped off this morning in Belvidere to meet Mr. Thomas Littlejohn, President of UAW Local 1268. Before we got there we thought we already knew the story about Belvidere’s newly renovated assembly plant, but it turns out there was even more good news there than we had thought.
Watch video clips of our interviews with President Littlejohn and other UAW leaders!
DaimlerChrysler’s Belvidere Assembly plant makes three new crossover vehicles: the Dodge Caliber, the Jeep Compass, and as of this month, the Jeep Patriot. All three come with continuously variable transmissions (which save fuel and provide a smoother ride than conventional 4, 5 or 6-speed transmissions) and efficient engines with dual-variable valve timing (that are built by UAW Local 723 in Dundee, MI). These advanced technologies make all three vehicles capable of 30 mpg.
We had heard that Chrysler created a bunch of jobs at the plant when they renovated to build the new crossovers last year, but didn’t know all the details. We found out today that union employment at the plant went from 1700 before the renovations to 3600 after. In addition, we also found out that an entire supplier park was created in the surrounding neighborhoods and now employs 2900 workers, all of whom have been organized in the past year. That’s 4800 new jobs in the Belvidere area – what an enormous impact that must have on the local economy! And that’s only the direct manufacturing jobs; there must also be thousands of new in-direct jobs, for example at local diners and construction companies.
President Littlejohn also mentioned that the state played a big role in enticing DaimlerChrysler to re-invest in the plant by offering millions in tax incentives. He said Governor Blagojevich and the local government have been some of the UAW’s strongest allies in the region. If state policies made such a big difference in Illinois, imagine what federal policies could!
Take Action! Tell Congress to encourage more investments like this one!
For more information on these crossovers , visit the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot websites.
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