MASSENA – The Massena Public Library will host a reception for the photography exhibit entitled “unseenamerica NYS: Pictures & Stories by Workers & Family of UAW Local 465” Tuesday, June 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

During the spring of 2007, General Motors announced the closing of the 48-year old plant located in Massena, New York.

The following year, close to 500 workers were relocated to places like Toledo, Ohio, taken retirement, or separated from General Motors completely for work.

“We are all grieving over the loss of our jobs,” one UAW member says, “the loss of our way of life as we know it today.”

Now in 2011, these workers have their feet on the ground and this exhibition is to celebrate these workers’ resilience.

In 2007 The Workforce Development Institute worked with UAW members in Massena to help them tell their stories through photographs and writing.

At this time they participated in the region’s first ever unseenamerica NYS workshop – a program that gives cameras and photography lessons to scores of workers nationwide.

This project gives those that are unseen the tools and opportunities to become seen.

The result is a rich and unexpected portrait of life as an auto worker in Massena, as told by the workers themselves.

unseenamerica NYS: Pictures & Stories by Workers & Family of UAW Local 465 offers more than a glimpse into life as a General Motors employee – these are the stories of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and grandparents who work hard to care for their families and community.

The photographs will be on display at library, 41 Glenn St., from June 14 through June 30. For more information contact Greg Hart, 769-7900 (office), ghart@wdiny.org or visit www.wdiny.org.