LORDSTOWN, Ohio - President Donald Trump continues Tweeting about the future of the General Motors Assembly plant in Lordstown. 

Monday Morning the President urged that the UAW and General Motors begin contract talks immediately instead of waiting until September or October.

Both GM and the UAW have said that the future of the Lordstown plant will be the topic contract negotiations.

Kristen Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research tweeted a response to the President's Tweet saying talks "officially" open in June or July.

UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg tells 21 News that formal contract negotiations start with a handshake ceremony in mid-July, but UAW negotiators have been meeting and were in Detroit for a special bargaining convention last week.

Background

What began as a Tweet from President Donald Trump urging General Motors to either quickly resume production or find a new owner of the Lordstown Assembly complex turned into a salvo of Twitter comments from political opponents when the President called on UAW Local 1112 President to “get his act together” and  “stop complaining”.

Here are this past weekend's Tweets by the president and the reaction they elicited:

It began Saturday afternoon when the President urged GM to act quickly to open the plant.

The President's initial Tweet brought support from Valley congressman and fellow Republican Rep. Bill Johnson who said would be a mistake to let the “highly skilled” workforce get away.

On Sunday the President's Tweeted criticism of UAW Local 1112 President Dave Green's leadership at the Lordstown plant.

Instead of using Twitter, UAW Local 1112 President Dave Green emailed his response to the President's criticism with the following statement:
 

We're doing everything we can with the Drive It Home Ohio campaign to convince General Motors CEO Mary Barra to reinvest in GM Lordstown. As Mary Barra has said, GM plans to discuss our fate with the UAW in the fall and we are focused on getting a new product in Lordstown," Green said. "Folks here in the Mahoning Valley are True Blue, hard working, loyal, dedicated and ready to help General Motors and this country build the cars and trucks of the future."

The Drive it Home Ohio campaign is a grassroots coalition of business, labor and elected leaders that have come together to urge General Motors to reinvest in keeping the GM Lordstown manufacturing facility open.

UAW International communications strategist Brian Rothenberg issued a statement supporting Green.

Dave’s focus as is the UAWs is on our members and leaving no stone unturned to keep the GM plants open.

The president then went back to Twitter saying he “just spoke with” GM CEO Mary Barra who he said blamed the UAW.

General Motors didn't go on Twitter but weighed in with a statement of its own.

To be clear, under the terms of the UAW-GM National Agreement, the ultimate future of the unallocated plants will be resolved between GM and the UAW. We remain open to talking with all affected stakeholders, but our main focus remains on our employees and offering them jobs in our plants where we have growth opportunities. We have now placed over 1,000 employees from our unallocated plants to other GM locations, and we have opportunities available to virtually all impacted employees.

Cheryl McCarron
Team Manager, North America Manufacturing Communications

Congressman Bill Johnson did not respond to the President's Tweets about Dave Green and Mary Barra. Two Democrats who represent the Valley didn't hesitate.

Congressman Tim Ryan sent out a series of Tweets supporting the local UAW President and criticizing president Trump.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Tweeted messages supportive of the UAW and its local president, calling on the chief executive to support legislation that Brown says would support American workers.

Both the UAW and General Motors have told 21 News that the future of the Lordstown Assembly Plant will be determined during union contract negotiations this summer.

While some UAW members have remained in the Valley either looking for new jobs or waiting for the outcome of contract talks, many have been transferred to other GM facilities, sometimes leaving family members behind.