CLAYCOMO, Mo. -- Local United Auto Worker union members rallied Saturday to show their support for emergency assistance for the auto industry.

The UAW said there are more than 55,000 auto-related jobs in the state of Missouri alone, including those at the Ford Claycomo plant.

Union members hope to persuade Missouri U.S. Rep. Sam Graves that those jobs should be saved, and that the way to do that would be to approve a bailout plan that would pump billions of dollars in loans to the struggling Big Three automakers.

Without those loans, the UAW claims both the Ford plant in Claycomo and the General Motors assembly plant in Fairfax could be forced to close their doors.

And they said it's not only a loss of jobs at stake, but the loss in tax revenue to both Missouri and Kansas that make a bridge loan to the automakers a better deal for taxpayers.

The rally held by autoworkers from both Kansas and Missouri began at noon in front of Rep. Graves' Liberty office.