Photograph by Aimee Cregger

STRASBURG, June 24 — The United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2999 held a protest at International Automotive Components in Strasburg on Wednesday. The emotional and often vocal event aired the workers concerns over manufacturers outsourcing jobs to Mexico.

International Automotive Components is a global supplier of automotive parts, including interior and exterior structural and functional applications. The company is headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., with 29 locations in the U.S., two in Canada, and seven in Mexico.

On May 22, IAC employees were notified that a major program run in Strasburg was being transferred to a similar plant in Mexico. The movement will affect 110 local jobs next month.

Production is being moved to Mexico because IAC is required to be in close proximity to its customer and General Motors needed this particular line near Mexico, according to David Ladd of IAC.

Members of the UAW, also employees of IAC, came together on Wednesday to express their concerns to the public. Their years with the company ranged from 10 to 40.

Karen Foster, of Front Royal and president of the local UAW, paced up and down the sidewalk outside of IAC Wednesday afternoon chanting, “Let's hear it for the American worker,” and “I wish we could afford to buy what we make.”

Foster has been with IAC for 21 years.

IAC employees filled the sidewalks holding signs stating their fears and taking shifts, a ...
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