(WXYZ) — Two more Michigan auto workers have die from COVID-19 complications, according to the UAW.
UAW President Rory Gamble announced Thursday one employee at the MOPAR Centerline Packaging plant passed away from the virus, as well as an employee at the Ford Livonia Transmission plant.
Gamble released this letter expressing the union's condolences:
Sisters and Brothers,
A short message today to recognize the courageous men and women stepping up to help all of us during these difficult days. As you all know, we have many members on the front lines of this crisis, who report to work every day and put their lives at risk to keep our communities safe and functioning. And we have members who are stepping up and volunteering to help save lives in so many ways.
But before I share some of these stories, I must share some sad news. Today, we lost two more members of our UAW family to this virus, a member who worked at the MOPAR Centerline, Michigan, Packaging plant, and a member at the Ford Livonia, Michigan, Transmission plant. On behalf of the President’s Office and the entire International Executive Board, we extend our deepest sympathies and support to the families and friends.
But we also saw some positive news. Training at the GM Kokomo facility is underway to keep our members safe as they courageously volunteer to make life-saving ventilators. We have been working very closely with GM to ensure that stringent CDC health and safety protocols are put in place to keep our UAW members safe and healthy as they provide this critical service that will save countless lives.
UAW members from FCA and Ford are also volunteering their time and stepping up to help our nation with community efforts and the production of much needed Personal Protective Equipment. We are working with all these companies to ensure that our members are safe as they step up, as they have always done, to help our families, our communities and our nation in this time of need.
There are many stories of our members doing good works in this extraordinary time. For example, a member in Region 1 has started a Facebook relief page so he can deliver masks and other critical supplies to people in need. And that is only one story. There are so many more. I think these individual stories are important for all of us to see and to celebrate during this time. It reminds us that we are strong, and we must stay hopeful and vigilant. We are featuring these members at ‘Heroes on the Front Lines’, a new segment on our digital channels. It’s just a way to remind us all of who we are and who we have always been.
I will end with this: Please continue to support one another and adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV.
Watch for updates and submit questions that you may have about your worksite at UAW (https://uaw.org/coronavirus/).
And remember, we are all in this together.
In solidarity,
Rory L. Gamble
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