2006 Fall Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com

BY RON RUSSELL
Real People
Mack Ave Makes a Difference
Giving back is second nature in this caring community
LEE ANNA BYRD
Whether reaching out to
hurricane victims or stepping
up for healthier babies, Mack
Avenue Engine Complex workers
seldom miss an opportunity to go an
extra mile to help others.
Consider this year’s March
of Dimes WalkAmerica
campaign. Mack Avenue
raised $10,353 to help prevent
premature births and birth
defects — the largest donation
by any Chrysler Group
manufacturing location in
the Detroit area.
It was just the latest
example of the UAW and
management at Mack Engine
I and II pulling together to
support a good cause.
“Giving back has become
part of our culture at Mack,”
says management PQI
facilitator Henry Smith,
coordinator of community
service activities. “We have a
close-knit family atmosphere,
and it makes no difference
whether you’re union or
management when the issue is
community involvement.”
Mack Avenue’s response to
the March of Dimes was a
personal as well as a plant
triumph. UAW PQI facilitator DeNeen
Dickerson opened the eyes — and
pocketbooks — of co-workers with her
own story about the consequences of
premature birth.
Dickerson’s 23-year-old daughter, Kyra
Mechelle Lacey, weighed only 2 pounds,
9 ounces at birth and suffered from a hole in
her heart and other severe developmental
problems. The Mack II worker, a UAW Local
51 member, was not even seven months
into her pregnancy when Kyra was born.
Dickerson’s compelling video about the
subsequent hospital ordeal and the support
she received from the March of Dimes and
loved ones became the rallying point for
an aggressive fund-raising campaign. A
Walking for the March
of Dimes was personal
for DeNeen Dickerson
and daughter Kyra.
“Giving back has become part of our
culture. It makes no difference whether
you’re union or management when the
issue is community involvement.”
— HENRY SMITH
majority of the 1,600 employees at Mack I
and II, including members of UAW Locals
412 and 889, got involved in the effort,
which included a hot dog sale and a car
raffle. Several dozen employees also hit
Detroit streets for the walkathon.
“We ask so much of employees to support
various good causes from the United Way to
hurricane relief, but when someone you
know is affected it makes people want to give
more,” says Rachel Goodwin, MQAS
coordinator and Local 51 member at Mack
II. “DeNeen is family to us.”
For Dickerson, WalkAmerica ranks as
the ultimate expression of camaraderie
and concern by her co-workers: “I was
overwhelmed by the way people related to
my story and then opened up
their hearts to help the babies.”
Employees have been
opening their hearts to the
needs of others since Mack I
opened in 1997 and Mack II
two years later.
For the past four years,
employees have participated
in the Paint the Town project
to refurbish the property of
disabled persons, senior
citizens and other low-income
residents. Thanks to their
efforts, owners of aging homes
not far from the sister plants
have a renewed sense of wellbeing
and hope.
Other community service
projects supported by
employees include plant blood
drives, Detroit’s Capuchin
Soup Kitchen, the FIRST
robotics competition for high
school students and Business
United with Officers and
Youth (BUOY), a partnership
with a Detroit police precinct.
Last September, workers joined volunteers
from several other Chrysler Group plants
to send a relief convoy to aid Hurricane
Katrina victims.
Making a difference in the lives of others
is it own reward, but it’s also good business,
adds Smith, recipient of Chrysler Group’s
2005 Good Neighbor, Good Citizen Award.
“Trust me,” he says. “If people know a
company gives back to its community,
they will buy your products.” ■
www.uawdcx.com TOMORROW FALL 2006 9