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Workers watch last Chevy Tahoe roll off assembly line in Janesville
[December 23, 2008]

Workers watch last Chevy Tahoe roll off assembly line in Janesville


(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 23--JANESVILLE -- General Motors Corp. figured workers might not want to stay for the emotional scene of watching the last vehicle roll off the assembly line at their plant in Janesville, so they were allowed to punch in this morning at 5:48 a.m. and leave.



But hundreds of workers stayed and watched the black Chevy Tahoe LTZ completed.

Assembler Mike Ronan of Beloit finished his last shift at the plant Monday but he came back in to see the completed sport-utility vehicle. He wanted to watch, he said, because he worked on it.


"Just wanted to see the last one go off," he said.

Ronan, 42, worked at the plant for 22 years and says he doesn't know the next step he plans to take. He's praying that local civic and government leaders succeed in their effort to get a new GM product at the plant, though chances are slim.

The Janesville plant, which started building tractors in the 1800s and shifted to Chevrolets in the 1920s, made Chevrolet Suburbans, Tahoes and Yukons. A sharp drop in sales of SUVs this year hurt the plant. GM has canceled the next generation of the models and beginning in January, the company will limit production of the big SUVs to its factory in Arlington, Texas.

"There ain't no more," Jeff Schroedl said as he walked out of the plant where he worked for 23 years. "Done deal."

About 250 employees watched the last Tahoe roll off the line about 7:30 a.m., he said. Many pictures were taken. Plant manager Gary Malkus spoke. So did Andy Richardson, president of Local 95 of the United Auto Workers.

Their message, according to Schroedl: "We're not done yet. There's still hope."

The hope here is that GM will restart production in Janesville, using the huge factory to build another vehicle. Many here are clinging to that hope, but the odds seem stacked heavily against them. GM is verging on bankruptcy, the entire auto industry is slumping and the economy is in recession.

Schroedl, 50, of Fort Atkinson, plans to return to school, possibly to study engineering. But on Tuesday, he was also thinking about what is likely the last of his days at GM.

"It was just sad, you know," he said. "There ain't nothing you can say about it."

The end of production was marked by "a lot of hugs, tears -- stuff like that," said Jim Glass, 43, of Milton.

Glass was among those watching. He worked here for more than 24 years. His father worked here, too. So did his grandfather. As he stood in the blowing snow outside the factory Tuesday morning, he struggled to describe his emotions.

"It's kind of an empty feeling," he said, "but there's actually kind of a good feeling in a way because there's so much positiveness coming out of everybody."

Janesville workers, Glass included, still hope the plant can land another vehicle.

"I tell you, almost everyone in there today had a great attitude on, and we're all hoping for the best," he said.

Glass said he doesn't like to cast about for blame, but believes the government has helped foreign competitors to the U.S. automakers, and that American consumers have turned their backs on the domestic manufacturers.

"We, as Americans, need to start buying American products," he said. "And we need to take care of the people who take care of this country."

When the last Janesville Tahoe was finished, assembler Roxanne Connell, 40, of Janesville walked across the plant's parking lot to the Zoxx 411 Club, a tavern whose owner refused to sell to GM when the plant was expanded.

Connell, who worked at the plant for 14 years, said workers wanted to see the final stages of work on the Tahoe because they were proud.

When asked how she felt to see the last truck completed, tears spilled.

"I think people are proud of everything, but sad," she said.

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

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