AP: Nixon says state's auto industry can revive

 

Fenton -- Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jay Nixon outlined his plans for bolstering the state's auto industry Wednesday, meeting with auto workers in a St. Louis suburb hit hard by industry layoffs.

Nixon, currently the state attorney general, told Chrysler workers in Fenton that Missouri is a prime location for the auto industry to launch production of electric and other energy-efficient vehicles.



"A whole new generation of vehicles is going to be made in this country, a whole new product line of demand," he told dozens of workers at a union hall near a Chrysler plant.



"We are better positioned to meet that need. We gotta be there."



Citing declining demand for minivans and pickups trucks, Chrysler cut a shift from the truck plant in early September and will close the minivan plant Oct. 31.



Nixon's praise of Missouri autoworkers' efficiency and work ethic played well with his audience.



Ben Harman, 43, of Ste. Genevieve, an autoworker half his life, is among the 2,400 autoworkers losing their jobs this fall in Fenton. With a 16-year-old son with cystic fibrosis, Harman isn't sure where he'll work, or get health insurance.



"As a country, as a state, as an industry, and as individuals, we're in a crisis," Harman said.

Nixon said that as governor, he would use job training, tax breaks and other financial incentives to attract and retain next-generation auto jobs in Missouri.

Source: Associated Press