Source: In These Times
by Sarah Lazare
“Dawn Simms has been out of work for a year and a half. The Stellantis auto plant where she, her father and grandfather worked most of their adult years now sits idle, ringed with tall grass and weeds. Almost all of the members of her union, United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1268, have been laid off, too, and the effects have rippled through the northern Illinois town of Belvidere, where restaurants have closed and business at others has slowed, as the need at food pantries has increased. It’s a familiar Rust Belt story, with a twist. Sitting in the union hall, a five minute drive from the shuttered plant, Simms does not talk like someone resigned to the loss of her livelihood or her home town’s vibrancy. ‘We’re here and we’re willing to work,’ she says. ’We want to work. Why can’t you keep your promise and bring your product?'” (09/11/24)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/belvidere-reopening-delay-uaw-national-strike