CAW continues negotiations with company
May 14, 2009 - 03:19 PM
By Parvaneh Pessian
OSHAWA -- The dark clouds looming over General Motors over the past year culminated Thursday as thousands of current and retired GM workers bid goodbye to the Oshawa truck plant.
Canadian Auto Workers Local 222 president Chris Buckley met with reporters outside the Park Road plant on a wet and windy morning. He likened the feeling of walking through the plant for the last time to paying respects to a family member or dear friend at a wake.
"I walked up and down those assembly lines seeing the men and women building the last vehicle with tears running down their cheeks and to be very honest with you, it brought tears to my eyes," he said, adding that he urges all workers to hold their heads up high.
"This plant is not closing because of the jobs our members have done for 45 years -- this plant is closing because our government has allowed unfair trade to deteriorate the strongest industry in our country."
The last vehicle to roll off the line, a GMC Sierra crew cab worth $47,000, was raffled off to one of the workers with proceeds going to the Hospital for Sick Children.
The CAW is in the midst of collective bargaining with GM to help them weather the ongoing global economic crisis by receiving federal and provincial government funding.
Mr. Buckley called the negotiations an "extremely slow and painful" process.
"We're going to go back to Toronto and we're gong to do our utmost to put together the framework of a new collective agreement but there are no guarantees."
Recommend :