Shifting careers
Laid-off GM workers share expertise
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
When the General Motors assembly plant in Linden closed in 2004 because of lagging sales, longtime employees Vincent Garrote and Frank D’Arcio were among several hundred who had a lot of free time on their hands but nowhere to use their skills.
However, thanks to the Jobs Bank program GM created with the United Auto Workers, both men were able to find places to keep busy, get paid and help others at the same time.
As part of the contract, which expires in September, Garrote and D’Arcio may only work in company-approved activities, such as community service and still get paid.
D’Arcio, of Colonia, began working at St. Peter the Apostle High School in New Brunswick last March after telling Kathleen Joyce, principal, about his situation. Both are members of St. John Vianney Parish, also Colonia.
“I told her, ‘All you have to do is provide a signature. I provide 40 hours of labor a week and GM pays. You buy the parts and I can install whatever you want,’” D’Arcio said.
“I can’t even begin to measure how valuable he has been,” Joyce said. “He has saved us probably thousands and thousands of dollars.
“The other day he went down to [St. Peter the Apostle] church and did all the lighting on the altar for when the scaffolding comes down for $100. He will research the most inexpensive light bulb that gives the best results.”
D’Arcio, a 49-year-old father of three, said he got depressed after being laid off from a job that he loved as well as having to collect unemployment checks for 40 weeks.
“My wife [Maryellen] and I keep active,” D’Arcio said. “We like volunteering and believe, as the church says, in sharing your time and talents.
“It wasn’t God’s fault that General Motors decided to close,” he added. “It is people who buy foreign cars, but I don’t blame the American public too much for that either because in the 1970s GM was designing and making things and saying ‘You buy what we make.’ The Japanese came along and said, ‘What do you like in a car?’ Durability, quality; GM is now playing catch-up.”
If the jobs bank program is not renewed, D’Arcio said he is uncertain about his future. Because of budget problems, the high school will close its doors in June.
“The only plant I have my name in to work is Wilmington (Del.),” D’Arcio said. “All my family is here in New Jersey. I am praying GM extends this program for four more years.”
Mending fences
Garrote, a GM employee for more than 30 years, does maintenance work five days a week at the Emmaus House, a retreat and conference center operated by the Diocese of Metuchen near his home in Perth Amboy.
When he came to the Emmaus House in June 2005, Garrote, a member of St. Mary Parish, also Perth Amboy, worked with fellow GM employees James Sak and Pierre Harmony. Volunteers are vital to the success of the facility, said Poor Servants of the Mother of God Sister Susan McGrath, director.
Some of the major building projects they completed included an outdoor fence and second-story porch deck and tables. They also painted rooms and repaired windows.
Although being laid off may have been a devastating moment for many of the workers, some good has come from it, Garrote said.
“A lot of places, not only churches, but hospitals, police stations, fire departments, have benefited from the plant closing down because there are a lot of us doing community service in many different ways,” he said. “There is always something to do here.”
Kathi Campbell, program coordinator at Emmaus House, said because of the age and size of the building, repairs are often needed.
“Vincent’s work is excellent and his presence has been wonderful,” Campbell said. “He has brought a peace about the house knowing that someone is here who, if you throw things at him, he takes care of it. He tells us what we need for the repair and he goes and does it.”
As a volunteer in social outreach activities at St. Mary Parish, Garrote, 54, said he was aware of the problems faced by the poor, but his experience at Emmaus House has put a more human face to their plight. It has also helped him appreciate his GM job even more.
“Thank God I was able to have that job for almost 30 years,” he said. “I didn’t have anything to worry about because my retirement was set. I tell a lot of people I am a lucky person and somebody up there has been looking out for me.”
Garrote, who was born and raised in Elizabeth, and his wife, Rosa, are parents of a four-year-old son, also named Vincent. To plan for the future, Garrote has obtained a commercial driver’s license and is studying to earn a license to drive a school bus.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law