A group of local volunteers got together and constructed a beautiful, new playhouse for area children to play in! Volunteers from the United Way of Greater Lima pulled out the power tools and put together a 6-foot long, 5-foot wide, and 7-foot high cedar wood log cabin playhouse along with a garden center. The new playhouse and garden center was built at the West Ohio Cap Early Learning Center area for the children in the Head Start program, giving them a safe place to learn and play. Volunteers say building the playhouse is a great way to give back to the community.

With concerns for Ohio's labor force, local unions came out today against Bernie Moreno. Representatives from UAW Local 1219, Lima Troy Area CAP Council, and the United Steelworkers are speaking out about their concerns with the lack of respect they say Moreno has for Ohio workers. With the court actions against him for not paying earned overtime to his own employees and the NBC news report that he has bought land to get back into the auto sales businesses, these laborers say that's not what Ohio needs. 

LIMA, OH (WLIO) - The United Auto Workers union members of Lima gathered to make their voices heard by the industry. Employees of Lima's Ford …

The Richard T. Gosser Scholarship Awards Program has been awarding scholarships to the children of union members since 1962. This year, Region 2B is giving 12, $10,000 scholarships to graduates in Ohio and Indiana. Locally, Caitlyn Maag of Pandora-Gilboa, whose father works for General Dynamics, and Emma DeLong from Lima Central Catholic, whose father works for Ford Engine Plant, were awarded scholarships. The program has given out nearly three million dollars in scholarships over the last 60 years.

Manufacturing businesses are set to open on May 4th in Ohio, though the Ford plant in Lima will take their time in getting things up and running. Ford's UAW president said the plant is planning a staged approach before ramping up production. A few people will come in on May 4 to prepare things and the process will be gradual in bringing everyone back. The president said Ford has a real focus on safety and attention to detail. Ford plans on following all of Ohio's guidelines to begin work and are adding more. On top of setting up a screening area, employees take a daily survey online to say how they feel.

There was a dedication on Friday as part of the United Way's Day of Caring. Old Glory is now flying high at the Pangle Community Services Corporation building as a project of the United Auto Workers Building Corp. The corp is a collaboration of all the UAW unions in the area taking on projects to meet community needs. They recently moved their offices to the Pangle building and noticed that something was missing.

The United Auto Workers has sued General Motors in federal court to stop the closing of plants in Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland, claiming the company is forbidden from idling plants under its current contract. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Youngstown.

Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland made a stop in Lima this afternoon to meet with local United Auto Workers.