Scenes from Detroit as residents learn to live and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and find their new normal. Detroit Free Press
A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles worker based at the Chelsea Proving Grounds and diagnosed with the novel coronavirus died Thursday morning, the UAW said.
This is the 12th confirmed death of an FCA employee stricken by the respiratory illness and the 19th confirmed death for the Detroit Three automakers since March 22.
“The UAW mourns the loss of another since the pandemic began,” said UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg.
FCA did not respond to a request for comment.
The Chelsea Proving Grounds, a nearly 4,000-acre site in Chelsea west of Ann Arbor where FCA develops new vehicles on test tracks and in engineering labs, is the eighth FCA location to be affected by the death of a worker in recent weeks. The operation has been closed, the UAW said. FCA began rolling shut downs of its U.S. operations between mid-March and the end of the month.
It is unclear where the deceased workers contracted the highly infectious disease. As is typical of most workplaces during this time, the auto companies are monitoring when employees have been exposed, and who might need to be notified for potential quarantine. Factory workers in many situations have worked physically close to one another.
While FCA and Ford have experienced loss, General Motors has no confirmed deaths.
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The UAW is notified of deaths because union leaders are monitoring and tracking workplace safety concerns as some employees work in “essential” manufacturing settings that have not shut down. The UAW is also playing a key role in the production of safety gear and hospital equipment being made for health care workers, first responders and hospital patients. Ford and GM have big projects underway.
The UAW or company officials have confirmed the following 19 deaths since March 22:
- Three FCA workers from Sterling Heights Assembly Plant
- An FCA worker from the Kokomo Transmission Plant in Indiana
- Two FCA workers from Warren Truck
- An FCA worker from FCA Transport in Sterling Heights
- Two FCA workers from MOPAR parts distribution center in Center Line
- An FCA worker from the Warren Stamping Plant
- An FCA worker from the Chelsea Proving Grounds
- An FCA non-union employee based at the Warren Tech Center, working at the Auburn Hills headquarters
- A Ford worker in skilled trades from the Ford Data Center in Dearborn
- A Ford worker from Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant in Dearborn
- A Ford worker from Dearborn Stamping
- A Ford worker from Michigan Assembly in Wayne
- Two Ford workers from the Livonia Transmission Plant
- A Ford worker from the Chicago Assembly Plant
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-222-6512or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. Sign up for our autos newsletter.
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