• June 2008 - GM announces it will close its Oshawa truck plant, with production ending in 2009. The company cites skyrocketing oil prices and declining truck sales as factors in the decision, which will eliminate 2,600 jobs. Although one shift at the plant had already been cut, the other two shifts were supposed to continue on, working in alternating weeks, as the result of a recent collective agreement with the CAW.

• June 2008 -- Local workers stage Manufacturing Matters March, urging government to address issues such as unfair trade and the high Canadian dollar that have helped cause a crisis in the auto industry. The rally drew more than 2,000 supporters.

• May 2008 -- New three-year deal is reached between Canadian Auto Workers Union and General Motors. CAW Local 222 workers vote 80 per cent in favour of the new deal, which focuses mainly on product allocation in the plants. The deal will also freeze wages for three years and stall layoffs in the truck plant.

• May 2008 -- GM announces it will be closing its Windsor transmission plant by mid-2010. The move means 1,400 workers will lose their jobs.

• April 2008 -- GM announces a second shift will be cut at the Oshawa truck plant, to take effect in September. The announcement affects 1,000 workers. CAW local 222 president Chris Buckley estimates for every GM job lost 7.5 spinoff jobs in parts manufacturing will also be lost.

• January 2008 -- New American fuel-consumption regulations requiring all vehicles to average 35 miles per gallon (56 km per gallon) cause worries at GM, where 90 per cent of vehicle sales come from U.S. markets.

• January 2008 -- GM announces production of new Chevy Silverado Hybrid to begin at Oshawa truck plant in fall. It is the only hybrid model planned in full-size pickup truck line.

• December 2007 -- Truck plant workers get an unexpected extended holiday when GM announces two-week layoff. The company says the lay-off, in the first two weeks of January, is a chance to adjust its truck inventory and deal with slower sales.

• December 2007 -- Ward’s Automotive Reports predicts Ontario will be biggest loser in auto production across North America over next five years, with production sliding by more than 600,000 vehicles a year.

• September 2007 -- GM temporarily shuts down Oshawa’s two car plants as a result of a lack of parts from plants affected by the United Auto Workers strike.

• June 2007 -- Oshawa’s car plant is named the most productive assembly plant in North America by “The Harbour Report North America 2006.” Line No. 2 places first with 15.68 production hours per vehicle and line No. 1 followed in second place with 16.34 hours per vehicle.

• February 2007 -- GM announces that Oshawa truck plant will be first in Canada to produce hybrid vehicles, with two-mode hybrid versions of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra planned to begin production sometime in 2008.

• August 2006 -- GM announces Oshawa will build new Camaro. The deal will see a new flex plant built at Oshawa Autoplex with production starting in late 2008.

• September 2006 -- GM announces that final assembly on an initial fleet of 100 Hydrogen fuel cell-powered Suvs will be completed at Oshawa’s Regional Engineering Centre. The Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles will be distributed to three key U.S. markets in 2007.

• September 2006 -- Pival International, a Montreal-based logistics company, announces new 60,000 square foot facility to be built next to GM Autoplex in Oshawa. The new complex will sequence and deliver incoming parts to GM’s assembly plants, with the first phase expected to be completed in 2008.

• August 2006 -- The third shift at car plant No. 1, slated to be eliminated by the second half of 2006, is given a reprieve. GM announces the plant will continue to run at full capacity until the flex plant opens in 2008.

• July 2006 -- GM Canada president Michael Grimaldi is replaced. Having helmed the company since 2002, he moves to Korea to take over as head of GM Daewoo Auto and Technology. He is replaced by former president of GM de Mexico, Arturo Elias.

• March 2006 -- CAW reaches shelf deal with GM, exchanging reductions in relief times, outsourcing of non-trades maintenance workers and hiring of temporary employees during product launches in exchange for future product allocation. The deal was aimed at making Canadian workers more competitive after United Auto Workers’ health care concessions, in concert with the high Canadian dollar, gave American workers a $25 per hour cost advantage.

• November 2005 -- GM announces massive job cuts, which include cutting shift three at Oshawa car assembly plant no. 1 by mid-2006, with 1,000 workers losing their jobs and ceasing production at car plant no. 2 by the end of 2008, affecting 2,300 hourly workers and 230 salaried workers. CAW local 222 president Chris Buckley estimates ripple effect will mean between 3,000 to 4,000 jobs lost at GM feeder companies.

• October 2005 -- Canadian Auto Workers union ratifies new three-year collective agreement that includes modest gains in wages, pensions and benefits. The deal also includes assurance from GM for continued production at Canadian facilities.

• June 2005 -- Local GM workers wary after GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announces 25,000 job will be cut and several plants closed in U.S. by 2008.

• April 2005 -- Chris Buckley re-elected as president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 222. He says his main aim will be pressing the government for federal policies to help the faltering auto sector.

• April 2005 -- Oshawa’s Delphi battery plant, which spun off from GM Canada in 1999, announces it will end production in the summer after failing to remain profitable in a competitive market. Operations are set to be transferred to plants in Georgia and New Jersey.

• March 2005 -- GM Canada announces $2.5 billion re-investment in Canadian operations, dubbed the Beacon Project. The investment will support new vehicle and engine programs, employment and skills training and automotive engineering, research and development and manufacturing in Canada. A joint project involving GM, federal and provincial governments as well as colleges and universities, the multi-level plan will be aimed at innovation and technology.

• November 2004 -- GM announces 1-week lay-off of 3,000 workers at Oshawa’s no. 1 car plant. Employees will be off for the first week of January, with an additional two-week lay-off possible for later in the quarter.

• July 2004 -- A two-day strike at Oshawa’s TDS plant forces GM to close both Oshawa car plants for several days until a tentative agreement on wage increases is reached.

• June 2004 -- Canadian Auto Workers Union president Buzz hargrove endorses NDP leader Jack Layton’s plan for the Canadian auto industry, which he says would “restore confidence and investment.” Mr. Hargrove said that Conservative leader Stephen Harper’s plan to end government incentives and co-investments in major new products would harm the auto industry and cause further decline in the years to come.

• May 2003 -- CAW president Buzz Hargrove calls for an increased emphasis on developing and adopting a Canadian automotive strategy, citing recent incentives offered to automakers in the U.S. that add up to $300 million.

• September 2002 -- Canadian Auto workers ratify an agreement that maintains pay rates and benefits for workers and gaurantees GM’s continued investment in its Canada operations. Deal includes a joint letter from GM and the CAW calling on federal and provincial governments to develop a new auto policy that would bolster the industry.