GM workers raise $160K for charity

Workers at an auto plant in Windsor, Ont., that will close in 2010 have made their biggest donation ever to a local United Way campaign.

More than 1,300 people will lose their jobs when the General Motors four-speed transmission factory closes in June.

Still, they raised $160,000 for the United Way, 15 per cent more than they raised in 2008, said Janice Forsyth, the senior director of the United Way of Windsor-Essex County.

"I'm just always amazed at how they step up," Forsyth told CBC News.

"It just shows you the generosity of the employees here at General Motors, not only the salaried people but also members of our [union]," said Bill Reeves, the president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 1973, which represents workers at the factory.

GM announced the closure on May 12, 2008, saying it was switching to six-speed transmissions, which are more fuel efficient,and had no other use for the Windsor plant, which wasbuilt in 1963.

The United Way of Windsor-Essex County came 12 years later, in 1975.

Since then, GM workers have raised more than $10 million for the charity.

"It's really great to see this support," Forsyth said.