by Brent Frazier
MAURY COUNTY, Tenn. - Tending to his farm right outside Columbia on the day after Christmas, David McMeen knows he'll have to board a plane New Year's Day to return to his other job in Flint, MI.
McMeen is one of 353 local General Motors employees with 'return rights;' first dibs, in other words, on getting their jobs back when the idling plant in Spring Hill reopens later in 2012.
"Everybody is proud that we have product here," McMeen told NewsChannel 5. "And we're proud that they're going to hire local folks. We're just hoping General Motors will do the right thing and bring the ones with 'return rights' home, that took these force letters, and take this hardship off of us."
That hardship, as McMeen's wife, Mary Jo, is quick to point out is maintaining two households in this tough economy. Last May 28, David departed for Flint, MI, to follow his job of 16 years.
"Well, we had never been apart before," Mary Jo pointed out, with tears welling-up in her eyes. "So, I mean, at first, it was just like somebody had jerked a rug out from under me, you know?"
The McMeens, like so many loyal, GM families, look forward to a period of new work in the New Year. GM's Spring Hill plant is committed to assuming the duty of overflow production of the Chevrolet Equinox, hiring for which is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2012.
David McMeen, whose 6-month-minimum commitment for that out-of-state work hits its mark December 28, is holding up his end of the deal; he's just hopeful GM management makes good on their promise.
"We want them to hire more people, and we want General Motors to be successful," McMean said. "We just want to be home, and we think we can help them be successful."
email: bfrazier@newschannel5.com
