CAW close to `unique' deal over Oshawa

July 24, 2008 - 08:06

By Tony Van Alphen, Torstar News Service

The Canadian Auto Workers union says it is close to reaching a "unique" resolution with General Motors in a bitter dispute over the pending shutdown of the company's Oshawa truck plant.

Peter Kennedy, a senior CAW official responsible for GM, revealed yesterday that company and union negotiators are working on a settlement that is different from other agreements relating to plant shutdowns.

"There are some outstanding issues that still need to be cemented but we're getting close," Kennedy added in an interview. "I'm confident we'll be able to complete something very shortly."

CAW Local 222 filed a grievance early last month over the plant closing that triggered a high-profile blockade of the company's Canadian headquarters in Oshawa and threats of more disruptions.

GM, the country's biggest automaker, submitted a proposal in late June and the two sides have been quietly meeting in recent weeks in efforts to resolve the grievance.

Kennedy said the talks have gone beyond early retirement incentives and monetary sweeteners for workers to quit – common tools to reduce or eliminate layoffs when an auto plant closes.

"There's more at stake here," he said. "We're looking at doing something unique. We want to take it a step further given the circumstances of how this came about."

Kennedy would not disclose any details of the "unique" provisions until workers see them at membership meetings, possibly during the next few weeks.

"It would be different than what we've done in the past. I think people will be happy with this result."

Kennedy, the assistant to CAW's national secretary-treasurer Jim O'Neil, noted that in addition to a "soft landing" for workers so there are no involuntary layoffs, the union wants "good commitments" for models at the Oshawa site.

A spokesperson for GM of Canada Ltd. could not be reached for comment on the status of talks. Earlier, the company said it considered the discussions "private."

GM shocked the union in early June by announcing it would close the award-winning truck plant and cut more than 2,000 jobs during the second half of next year because soaring gasoline prices had led to a collapse in pickup sales in North America.

But that came only two weeks after the CAW and GM had agreed to a three-year contract where the union accepted millions of dollars in concessions in exchange for product commitments at the Oshawa complex, including a new generation of pickups.

The contract also contained a provision that called on GM to consult with the union for alternatives if the company considered a closure.

The union filed a grievance a few days later, claiming GM broke the contract.

Local union officials have also talked of other legal options, including a major complaint to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

GM won a court order to lift a 12-day blockade at the company's headquarters in southeast Oshawa last month but a judge criticized the automaker for its "deceit-like behaviour" and "almost immediate breach" of the contract.

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