Local unions confident in Obama’s plan

Local News

Discussion

April 30, 2009

By K.O. Jackson The Kokomo Tribune Thu Apr 30, 2009, 11:21 PM EDT

In his union office, Rich Boruff watched President Barack Obama say Chrysler LLC would file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The U.S. president said he was confident in Chrysler. The UAW Local 685 is confident in the president.

“I feel confident in him. He has a plan,” said Boruff, Local 685 president. “He is looking out for Chrysler, the communities and the workers.”

Filing under Section 363(b) of Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code could mean Chrysler might be out of bankruptcy in a short period of time.

And the shorter the better, said Jerry Conover, adding Chrysler wouldn’t want to overstay its welcome because the company’s visit could make others who depend upon Chrysler feel unwelcome.

“I think they can get through this quickly and come back a smaller company with fewer brands and be profitable,” said Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. “The concern would have to be on the suppliers. The longer they stay in bankruptcy and make fewer cars, they are going to feel a pinch. If the demand for cars is lower than it used to be, that means fewer car parts to make. The other significant impact could be on the dealers and the communities they are in. Usually they are a city’s biggest taxpayer and advertiser. That means less revenue circulating in a city. It’s not an easy time. Everyone is going to have to give a little to get through it.”

However, one Kokomo auto dealership manager doesn’t see the negativity of filing for bankruptcy: It’s all in how you perceive it.

“The way it’s been displayed, the public may perceive bankruptcy that way,” said Aaron Arriaga, a member of a Chrysler focus group and new car manager at Button Dodge Chrysler and Jeep.

“There was not an agreement because the banks know Chrysler’s value. They know Chrysler is worth more than 33 cents on a dollar. We now have GMAC financing. That’s a really good thing because they are aggressive. I don’t think this [bankruptcy] will affect consumers. They will still want to buy a car. This [bankruptcy] will be in the news for the next few days, but in a week or two, it will be forgotten and we’ll see what happens to GM next month.”

UAW Local 1166 representative Shawn Fain didn’t want a bankruptcy to occur at the company at all, nevertheless, he thinks it’s better it happened now.

“[Obama] cares about the families and the thousands of people this affects,” said Fain, who was also a member of the UAW Chrysler National Negotiating Committee. “If this was eight years ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all. We would have been liquidated.

“We hoped to avoid bankruptcy, but it’s here. We are not out of work and we have our jobs. Now, we need to get this [bankruptcy] done as fast as we can so we can get back to work.”

K.O. Jackson can be reached at (765) 854-6739 or via e-mail kirven.jackson@kokomotribune.com

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Local News

Entire U.S. 31 corridor now under contract
Every segment of the 13.1-mile, U.S. 31 Kokomo Corridor is now officially under construction.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Northwestern to graduate 130 seniors
Peyton Hite ended her last day in high school by going home and washing sheep.

“It’s part of living on a farm,” she said, with a laugh.

May 25, 2012
Drugs, cash seized, four arrested
Police from four agencies seized heroin, pills, syringes and cash, and arrested four people this week after a raid on a house on East Street, according to police reports.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Lafayette job fair expects Kokomo hopefuls
Organizers of a Lafayette job fair next week are reaching out to Kokomo residents looking for work.

May 25, 2012
Deputy prosecutor facing two charges
A Howard County deputy prosecutor will face two drunken-driving charges in connection with a traffic stop in Cicero.

May 25, 2012
Governor honors student
A Northwestern High School senior achieved a milestone Thursday when he became the first Indiana student ever to win both of the state’s top science awards.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Taylor considering staff reductions
A decline in enrollment has forced Taylor School Corp. to consider staff reductions, but the board won’t vote on the issue until next week, officials said Thursday.

May 25, 2012
Schools among top 20 in Indiana
Three area schools were ranked among the top 20 in Indiana this year by U.S. News and World Report.

Tri-Central Middle/High School, Eastern Junior-Senior High School and Tipton High School all made the list, which was an evaluation of 379 high schools across the state.

May 25, 2012
Library starts iPad rental program
Apple can’t make enough iPads to satisfy demand, but the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library now owns 15 iPad2 units.

Thursday, social media-conscious library patrons scrambled to borrow the tablet computers, on the first official day of the library’s iPad lending program.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Gov. names NW student 'Mr. Science' for 2012
Tyler Barnes becomes first Indiana student to be named Indiana's Top Young Scientist and Mr. Science.

May 24, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

Local unions confident in Obama’s plan

Site Map

Contact Us