GM workers ratify, parts plants workers next to negotiate
May 20, 2008 - 02:18 PM
By Melissa Mancini
OSHAWA -- A new three-year deal has been signed with General Motors, but the real fight for the Canadian auto industry is far from over, says the president of Canadian Auto Workers union local 222.
"We are done, but our job struggles don't end with this," Chris Buckley said.
The Canadian government has to address unfair trade policies that are allowing foreign products to saturate the market, Mr. Buckley said. The feds also have to help the industry deal with the high Canadian dollar and rocketing gas prices that are affecting sales, he said.
Bargaining for workers at parts manufacturing plants, including Lear Seating, will begin this summer, Mr. Buckley said.
Negotiating a new contract before the current one expires was the right decision because of the hard times the industry is facing and the potential for the situation to get worse, Mr. Buckley said.
The CAW announced late Friday night that Oshawa workers, members of CAW Local 222, voted 80 per cent in favour of the tentative agreement reached this week.
That compares to a nod by 97 per cent of the GM workers who voted in Windsor and 86 per cent in St. Catharines.
This was the toughest round of bargaining the union has ever faced and the union has had positive response at all locations about the GM deal, Mr. Buckley said.
Workers gathered at the GM Centre in downtown Oshawa on Friday to vote on the deal that freezes wages for three years and puts off layoffs in the truck plant.
"I am overly impressed with the contract considering the times we are in," James Van Kemp, a truck plant employee for more than 26 years, said outside the vote.
Employees said they agreed with the decision to focus on product allocation in the plants.
"As long as we have jobs," said Chris Ruiter, an employee for six years.
As part of the tentative deal the truck plant shift scheduled to be cut in September will now be extended until at least September 2009. In return, workers at the plant would work rotating shifts - one week on, one week off. The change will save about 1,000 jobs and keep two shifts operating, allowing the company to gauge the demand for the Silverado and Sierra hybrids, which will be produced out of that plant, said CAW national president Buzz Hargrove.
"We have a commitment for the next generation of trucks to come in at the truck plant, which will hopefully bring it back to three shifts at some point," he said.
Last week Mr. Hargrove said GM has committed to building a new car at its flexible manufacturing plant in Oshawa.
GM will also build the Chevrolet Impala in Oshawa until 2012. Despite plans to phase it out in 2010, sales have stayed strong.
Big Three labourers are among the highest-paid industrial workers in Canada. Production technicians earn $33.90 an hour, including a cost of living allowance (COLA), while tradespeople receive $34.30. Despite the wage freeze, the union estimates the COLA will generate an extra $1 an hour for workers by the end of the contract.
--with files from Torstar News Services
Recommend :