WASHINGTON -- UAW Local 22 member Donald LaForest will be honored at the White House Nov. 3 as a Champion of Change. The recognition will come at the first part of a day of activities the White House is calling "Make it in America," which will bring together American leaders helping to create high-quality jobs in the United States.

The White House Champions of Change Initiative profiles Americans from all walks of life helping the country rise to the challenges of the 21st century. These Champions of Change are doing extraordinary things in their communities working to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.
LaForest is being recognized for his work as chair of the UAW bargaining committee at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant. LaForest is responsible for negotiating changes to the local agreement that improved competitiveness and attracted nearly $500 million in investment that will create over 2,000 new jobs in this facility over the next several years. LaForest will meet with White House officials to discuss his efforts and identify ways the federal government might be able to help him expand his work.  

"This is really an honor for everyone associated with the Detroit-Hamtramck plant - labor and management together," said LaForest. "I'm really proud of everyone. We have made incremental changes to our local contract to lower our cost per vehicle, and we've increased our quality and attracted new investment in our plant.

"We are grateful to President Obama for giving us the chance to show that the domestic automobile industry can be competitive and create good jobs. The positive changes at my plant are a reflection of the changed relationship between the UAW and General Motors, with the same results on a national scale. The new UAW-GM contract established investment commitments that will result in more than 6,000 direct GM jobs over the next four years, which also means thousands of other jobs will be created in the supplier sector and other businesses supported by the domestic auto industry," LaForest added.

A UAW member for 36 years, LaForest previously worked at GM's Cadillac Motor Car plant and transferred with Cadillac production to Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant in 1985. He was first elected to local union office in 1983. LaForest has two children and eight grandchildren.

The UAW represents more than 850 employees at Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, which produces the groundbreaking Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera. Volt production will increase in January, creating 320 new jobs. The plant is also preparing to launch the all-new 2013 Chevrolet Malibu in mid-2012, initially creating an additional 400 to 500 jobs. The plant has also begun early activities to launch the next-generation Chevrolet Impala, creating 1,000 more jobs there.

This year the Chevy Volt was named North American Car of the Year, World Green Car, Motor Trend Car of the Year and IIHS Top Safety Pick.