Sen. Corker charges partisan politics over possible plant closing

U.S. Senator Bob Corker, well-known for his politically charged attacks on the Detroit automakers and the United Auto Workers, is singing another tune. The Tennessee Republican is now fighting to keep a union-staffed GM plant open and, predictably, is charging partisan politics will be responsible if it is closed.

At stake is the Spring Hill plant, located about 40 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee. The plant, originally constructed for the then-new Saturn Division, currently assembles the popular Chevrolet Traverse and employees 3,000 Tennesseans. However, General Motors needs to cut even more capacity and jobs to meet the requirements set by the Obama Administration’s automotive task force and a newer facility in Flint, Michigan, is already producing vehicles on the same platform and is located closer to suppliers. In addition, all of GM’s light trucks face an uncertain future if the Administration keeps its promise to shift the U.S. auto industry towards more fuel-efficient vehicles. With those factors in mind, industry analysts say transferring Traverse production to the Flint plant makes more sense from a business point of view.

Nonetheless, Corker has been campaigning to save the plant, saying “If the decision is made absent of politics, it has a good chance of staying open.”

Tennessee went for Senator John McCain in the 2008 election but there has been no sign the Obama Administration intends to play any part n deciding what factories remain open and an Administration official dismissed the idea that party politics would play any part in such decisions.

Referring to Senator Corker’s remarks, Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said, “Corker’s just assuming the president is doing what he would do. The president has wider concerns.”