WENTZVILLE, Mo. — The history of Wentzville is centered around the railroad, quite literally. The town was built around a rail station with the first train arriving in 1857.
But tracks through the historic downtown were quiet Tuesday afternoon, in part because of the other titan of transportation across town: the General Motors plant is idle due to a contract deadlock with workers.
"We're happy to be in Wentzville," a man said amongst the crowd of union members.
"Thank you, brother," Glenn Kage, President of United Auto Workers Local 2250, said back.
At the gates of the plant, there is a constant stream of cars with drivers laying the horn for the UAW strikers.
"General Motors has made record profits four out of the last five years," Kage said, often interrupted by the blaring car horns. "It's time for us to get some of that back. We've got 'temporary workers' that have been working here for four years. At some point, the term 'temporary' loses its definition."
It's hot, it's humid, little relief from the sun, but these union workers don't know how long this strike will last. Nobody does. That's the same question everyone's asking all over Wentzville.
"So this is the kind of stuff we might do for GM when we cater for them at times," restaurant owner Dean Laughlin said as he placed chickens into an aluminum serving dish.
Laughlin said he's seen the plant grow over the course of 23 years in Wentzville. When GM expands, so does the business at his restaurant, West Allen Grill.
"It seemed like when we first came here, a lot of the people who worked at the plant lived in the city," Laughlin said. "But since they've restructured and added more shifts, a lot of people have moved into the Wentzville area, and it has a big effect on business now.
With his front door facing the city's train tracks, Laughlin is waiting for the trains to resume their runs to the GM plant.
A spokesman for GM emailed the following statement Monday:
“We presented a strong offer that improves wages, benefits and grows U.S. jobs in substantive ways and it is disappointing that the UAW leadership has chosen to strike at midnight tonight. We have negotiated in good faith and with a sense of urgency. Our goal remains to build a strong future for our employees and our business.”
Contact reporter Sara Machi on Facebook and Twitter.
