L.A. officials seek meeting with GM chief to rescue doomed Southland auto facility.L.A. officials seek meeting with GM chief to rescue doomed Southland auto facility A coalition of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. officials, hoping that General Motors Corp. might reconsider plans to close Southern California's last major autombile plant, are pushing for a summit meeting of sorts with GM Chief Executive Officer Robert Stempel Robert C. Stempel is a former Chairman and CEO of General Motors Corporation. He joined General Motors in 1958 as a design engineer at Oldsmobile and was key in the development of the front-wheel drive Toronado. . So far, though, GM has not responded to that request. Last month as expected, the Detroit-based automaker announced it would shut down its 100-acre Van Nuys plant next summer, laying off some 2,600 business in the process. Still, believing that other options are available, an Aug. 19 letter was sent to Stempel to "discuss. . . . any conditions under which GM might alter its plans and choose to remain in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ." That letter - noting the Southland remains the biggest auto market in the U.S. - was signed by Mayor Tom Bradley Noun 1. Tom Bradley - United States politician who was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles (1917-1998) Bradley, Thomas Bradley , Los Angeles County Supervisor Edmund Edelman, Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. Richard Katz, D-Sylmar, and Rep. Howard Berman Howard Lawrence "Howie" Berman (born April 15 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). , D-Panorama City. Katz said in an interview last week it would be in GM's economic interest to meet with officials because the company may need zoning changes and various environmental clearances if it wants to sell the 44-year-old plant. GM plant spokesman Patrick Morrissey confirmed Stempel had received the letter early last week and is reviewing it. He said, "I can say we are going to do what we can to help our employees make the transition and have already met with the mayor." At a meeting last month, Katz, Berman, Bradley and Nick Patsaouras, president of the Southern California Rapid Transit rapid transit, transportation system designed to allow passenger travel within or throughout an urban area, usually employing surface, elevated, or underground railway systems or some combination of these. District, suggested that the GM plant could be converted into a rail- or electric-car building facility or even a transit research-and-development center. One lawmaker joked that if Stempel spurns their request for a meeting, they could make a film entitled "Robert and Me" - an oblique reference to the documentary "Roger and Me" about a filmaker's odyssey trying to interview former GM chief Roger Smith. |
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