St. Louis Area News
Sources: Final truck built, tools, parts and jobs from Chrysler Fenton plant heading to Mexico
09:50 PM CDT on Thursday, July 2, 2009
Fenton (KMOV.com) -- Workers at the Chrysler Plant in Fenton have made their last Dodge Ram.
As the last pickup rolled off the line, workers slapped a bumper sticker on the final truck that reads Fighting To Save St. Louis Jobs and referenced the website www.savemojobs.com.
Workers will spend their last days at the plant packing equipment to be sent to a plant in Mexico.
This is obviously not sitting well with workers or many taxpayers in the area who paid to bail out Chrysler.
Chrysler had planned to keep the north plant open for two weeks to allow for the manufacture of about 450 Dodge Ram pickup trucks. But in a strong show of solidarity the workers here turned out that order in just four days.
President of the local U.A.W. Donald Akerman told News 4 Chrysler officials in Michigan were startled to hear that.
Now they are fuming over the fact that the Ram will still be made in Mexico and News 4 is hearing that possibly Chrysler will expand its production there.
"It is a total insult to the American taxpayer in this country and the workforce in this country. It seems everytime something happens, the American taxpayer is always footing the bill for other people and other countries and we're not saying against other countries but we must take care of our own first," said Akerman.
Since Wednesday night News 4 tracked down lawmakers to find out why Washington hasn't been more aggressive in keeping St. Louis jobs from going to Mexico.
Senator Claire McCaskill is holding a meeting Friday at the Fenton plant with union leaders and company executives. She told News 4 that she is just as concerned as the workers about the closure.
Congressman Roy Blunt had plenty to say too. “I hate to see that plant close. I hate to see out auto industry become less competitive. I think a mistake was made when we didn't get serious about reorganizing the industry, instead of taxpayers taking over responsibility for the industry,” said Blunt.
News 4 also spoke with congressman Todd Akin's press secretary who told us Akin considers it an "insult" that taxpayers bailed out Chrysler, that the company closed the plant and may now export those jobs overseas.
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