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LORDSTOWN -- United Auto Workers Local 1112 President Tim O'Hara has decided to resign for personal reasons.
He announced his departure Tuesday afternoon.
After the General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown closed in March 2019, O'Hara's wife transferred to another plant in Bowling Green, Ky. He said knew it was a matter of time before he'd step down.
"I knew that moving and running the union couldn't work. It was time to step aside and time for the people in the Valley to take over," O'Hara said.
O'Hara took over as president about a year ago when former President Dave Green, who led the union through the plant closure, left to work at a GM plant in Indiana.
Filling the position will be union Vice President Darwin Cooper.
O'Hara said he believes Cooper will do well as Cooper "has decades of experience."
Local 1112 "is in good hands with Darwin. It'll be a struggle to carry on, but I think they'll do just fine," O'Hara said.
There are now less than 20 active, dues-paying members of the union, which once boasted more than 15,000 local members.
Membership dwindled dramatically following the closure of the GM plant, which made the Chevrolet Cruze and many other vehicles for more than 50 years. The facility now is owned by electric truck startup Lordstown Motors Corp., which intends to make electric work vehicles.
According to O'Hara, the plant's closing by GM has given the local union a hefty financial burden to try to stay afloat.
There is potential for the UAW to be a part of the new Lordstown Motors plant, however, and O'Hara said he would like to see the union take on the new employees.
The timing of O'Hara's departure comes days after the UAW's national president, Dennis Williams, was charged with embezzlement.
O'Hara called the investigation and the subsequent charges a "great disappointment," but he doesn't cite this as a reason to step down.
"The corruption put a black stain on everyone. Unionizing was already a struggle and (this) is going to make it harder for the UAW to unionize anywhere," O'Hara said. "It has hurt the UAW. We had a reputation for being a 'clean' union, but now it's gone."
Moving forward, Local 1112 has an available position to fill.
Normally, there is a 45-day period in which a new vice president will be selected, but due to 1112's unusual status, local and region leaders will discuss how to proceed. There could be an election or someone could be appointed as an interim vice president, O'Hara said.
nhawthorne@tribtoday.com