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UAW-Delphi Redneck Disaster Relief Dream Team Helps Meridian Residents Through Nightmare
By Region 8 Webmaster John Davis

In the Book of Psalms, chapter 12:5 the psalmist David wrote “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” say the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” The Lord left us here to do his work, so we are responsible for helping those who are maligned. The “UAW-Delphi Redneck Disaster Relief Dream Team” understands this concept and has proven their willingness to lend a hand.

The “UAW-Delphi Redneck Disaster Relief Dream Team”, as they named themselves, consist of a group of UAW Local 2195 members who are employees from the Delphi Facility located in Athens, Alabama. The group transferred to Athens from the Delphi Facility Tuscaloosa that is closing, but most are originally from the Delphi Plant in Meridian, Mississippi.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the coast, the devastation made it all the way to Meridian, which is 150 miles inland. There was significant damage in Meridian, as well as Laurel, Mississippi where another Delphi plant resides. When the hurricane struck, UAW Local 2195 member David Moon approached UAW Local 2195 Shop Chairman Howard Greene about sending a crew of the former Meridian folks down to their old hometown to help with clean up efforts. “Several of us old country boys grew up helping our daddy cut pulp wood,” David stated. “We felt that we could go down and help clean up trees off houses of the people in Meridian.”

Shop Chairman Howard Greene took the idea to Athens Facility HR Director Steve Sloan and the decision was made to allow a few of the folks to go down to Meridian to help LEMA (Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency) with the removal of trees from the homes of those unable to clean them up themselves. “It was the right thing to do,” Howard states. “The people there needed help and these guys knew the area and had the skills to get the job done.”

So, the “UAW-Delphi Redneck Disaster Relief Dream Team”, consisting of David Moon, Al Jones, Terry Williams, Mitch Chesney, Troy Stamper and Jeff Holloway set out for Meridian not knowing what to expect. In addition the group carried a truckload of supplies from the site to the Delphi Laurel, Mississippi plant.

Once the group got to Meridian, they were not prepared for what they found. Hundreds of homes had been damaged by trees from the storms, with many residents being unable to afford professional tree cutting services. In 21 days the team removed trees from 39 houses, with all homes having multiple trees on them.

“We were working at one home, when a professional company came in next door and removed some trees along with some still standing. They charged the people $14,000 to take the trees down. Most of the folks simply couldn’t afford to pay that. When you showed up to work at these homes, many of the folks would come out and tell you they couldn’t afford to have the trees removed. When we told them there was no charge, most sat down and cried. It will really get to you to see an 80 year old lady crying because you helped them out,” David adds.

The guys began to develop a rhythm of working together, and soon they had a system that worked quickly and efficiently as they moved from one house to another. The citizens of Meridian

were extremely grateful to both the “UAW-Delphi Redneck Disaster Relief Dream Team” and UAW-Delphi for allowing the group to work on the project through the jobs bank.

Meridian resident Joe Holderfield expressed his thanks for the assistance they received from Delphi employees. “We had some folks that came out and sawed up a tree off my house and I really appreciated it,” Holderfield states. “The guys did a great job.” Debra Fielder also offered her thanks. “There was a huge tree that fell on my grandmother’s house. She is 92 years old and on a fixed income. We had received some bids to have the tree removed but it was going to cost $2,000 and we simply couldn’t afford it. The employees from Athens came in and sawed the tree up and did a great job. We want you to know how much we appreciate it their efforts and that of UAW-Delphi for allowing these people to come out and perform this great community service,” Debra states.

Monty Cross of Plant 21 Engineering made a run to the Delphi Facility in Laurel, Mississippi with a truckload of supplies and Daniel Gibson and retiree Mike McGraw made run as well. “We really didn’t know what to expect when we got to Laurel,” Daniel Gibson states. “There was a fuel shortage so the National Guard was standing guard over the gasoline stations with weapons drawn.”

The operation in Laurel distributed the supplies to their employees, many of which were left homeless as a result of the hurricane. Laurel is approximately 100 miles to the north of the Mississippi Coast, but this didn’t spare the city from five hours of sustained winds at 90 Miles per hour. There were gust reported of over 120 miles per hour during that time, which include a number of tornadoes and torrential rains. The storm left 80% of the State of Mississippi without power and phone service. Through the southern most part of the state, even cell phone service was interrupted due to downed towers. The storm arrived in Laurel on Monday August 29, knocking out power to the facility. Power was restored to the plant by 10:30PMK on Tuesday, only because it is located near the substation. It was Wednesday, August 31 before contact could be made with headquarters to report the damage to the plant. A fuel shortage followed the hurricane further preventing the startup of production. Finally, the plant returned to normal operation on the C-Shift on Monday, September 05.

“I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the local union and to the management in Athens,” states UAW Local 2190 President Steve Ishee who represents the employees in Laurel. “Many of our members and management have been affected by this terrible storm, and we have great comfort in the care packages we have received from your plant.”

“Helping people is what the union is all about,” adds Local 2195 President Terry Scruggs. “The members who went down to help out the residents in Laurel and Meridian carried on labors purpose of everyone working together for the common good of all. We extend our thanks to these folks for representing the Alabama Site and Local 2195 in the community.”

“Hurricane Katrina appears to one of the most significant natural disasters in our nations history,” states Alabama Site HR Director Steve Sloan. “Due to our proximity to the coast, we have a number of employees with family members living in the areas affected by the hurricane. Our employees took the situation to heart and really turned out and supporter all our efforts to assist in the recovery on site. In manufacturing we are constantly faced with making fast decisions on the best way to utilize our resources. Sending the folks down to help was the right thing to do.”

Currently there are close to a million people in need of help along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastline. At this time the death toll stands at about 1000 and growing. As far the survivors, there are thousand homeless and still in need of help. The cleanup efforts will continue for many months to come as residents try to put their lives back together.

The “UAW-Delphi Redneck Disaster Relief Dream Team” is currently back to work and another crew is working down in Meridian to help with the cleanup. While the nickname the group chose for themselves is sort of tongue in cheek, this “Dream Team” helped many residents of Mississippi deal with the nightmare of Hurricane Katrina. They truly saw the oppression of the weak and heard the groaning of needy, rose up and went and helped. The decision of the joint leadership to send them was the right thing to do and the entire Athens Site expresses our thanks to everyone that helped for their efforts.