KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
Mike Kane has a word cloud photo hanging in the conference room at his office.
“My wife gave this to me for my birthday,” Kane said.
This gift is practically all of Kane’s life experiences on paper. Some stand out more than others, like his time working at the General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas.
“I enjoyed my 35 years down there,” Kane said.
Now, he’s the 5th District commissioner for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, but he also does public affairs work with Labor Union 1290 and is the president of the Tri-County Labor Council of Eastern Kansas.
“There’s a brotherhood with the unions,” Kane said. “And when somebody’s hurting, we will surely help.”
It’s the mindset he's had as temporary layoffs begin at the General Motors Fairfax plant.
“Layoffs are never good,” Kane said. “They get unemployment, some sub and stuff like that, but that’s not like getting a full paycheck.”
They’re happening because of a $391 million re-tooling so the plant can manufacture the Chevrolet Bolt EV.
“It’s kind of unique that they’re going to be building that car to supply what the demand is,” Kane said. “Thank God they’re going to build it here ‘cause that provides longevity for that plant.”
But it comes at a price.
“The Unified Government will lose money because they won’t get as much money because they’re not building cars,” Kane said. “BPU at the same time will lose one of their biggest users of electricity because of the downtime.”
Government entities aren’t the only ones paying.
“The entire community's going to be affected by this layoff,” said Dontay Wilson, United Auto Workers Local 31 president.
He expects several local businesses to take a hit as well.
Wilson spoke with KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson ahead of the layoffs in early November.
“Not only is General Motors gonna have people laid off, but all those suppliers are gonna have people laid off,” Kane said.
Riverside lies just north of KCK, across the Missouri River.
A handful of automotive parts suppliers in Riverside have recently announced several layoffs in the coming weeks and months as a result of the re-tooling.
At the GM plant, nearly 1,700 employees will be impacted.
The layoffs are happening in phases: Phase 1 has already begun and is in full effect on Dec. 2. Phase 2 will take effect in mid-January, and some layoffs won’t be completely over until early 2026.
“It is extremely hard to kind of have that, especially with this timing, and the length that we're looking at,” Wilson said.
November, December and January all house a largely expensive time of year: the holidays.
“It’s Christmas time, and Christmas time’s the worst time to be laid off,” Kane said.
In Kane’s mind, that’s where the union allegiance comes in.
“Each union helps each other in the best way they can,” Kane said. “And it means a lot to all of us to get help from the other unions.”
As GM embraces the EV movement, Kane hopes workers can experience the gift of longevity.
“They’ll be some hard times ahead, but once they get up and running, I think they’ll be there for a while,” Kane said. "They will rise to the occasion."
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