Local 798 Hits 6 Million Mark in Production

Dayton, Ohio

IUE-CWA Local 798, representing the 2,500 hourly workers at General Motors' Moraine Assembly, celebrated an important milestone January 18 with the building of the 6 millionth vehicle to roll off the line.

It started over 25 years ago, with the first vehicle to come down the line at Moraine being a Chevrolet S-10 pickup. That truck is now on display at Dayton's Carillon Park.

Fast forward, and the 6 millionth vehicle is a black-and-beige 4 wheel-drive Chevrolet TrailBlazer.

As part of the celebration of this historic mark, the owner of the TrailBlazer, Richard Ullom of Wadsworth, Ohio, was invited to visit the plant for not only a plant tour, but also to work on his truck as it went down the assembly line.

Ullom installed the hub caps and drove it off the line after it was completed. "This facility is amazing," Ullom commented. He said he was glad he took a couple of days off work to attend the festivities.

"We agreed to suspend payment of union dues," joked Automotive Conference Board Chairman Willie Thorpe about the unusual "production" worker.

Local 798 President Brenda Hayden noted that if all 6 million vehicles built at Moraine Assembly were placed end to end, the line would stretch for more than 18,000 miles.

"A lot of skilled and dedicated members worked hard to get us to this point," she said. "We want to be here to keep setting production records for decades to come."