Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 Forum - View Single Post - CAW forced back to talk to its members, Gulp.

99SSragtop · 05-07-2009, 03:13 PM

Ken Lewenza told reporters at a news conference that the federal and Ontario governments had forced the negotiations to happen, in an ultimatum the CAW president said caught him completely by surprise.

"We were called to a meeting yesterday that involved ourselves, General Motors, federal and provincial officials -- a very unusual meeting to say the least," Lewenza said just after 11 a.m. on Thursday morning.

"I never dreamed that our labour relations in the auto industry would come to this point," he continued. "The government folks gave us an ultimatum ... we have been instructed to go back into bargaining with General Motors."

The union has been told it must come to a new agreement with GM by May 15, Lewenza said, only two months after a similar labour deal was previously negotiated that left the Detroit automaker "fully competitive with the offshore automakers."

"Now the governments are telling us to go back to do it all over again," he said.

Lewenza said the fact that autoworkers have been forced into voting on a third contract in the same year-long period puts "the credibility of the whole process" into question.

The governments have said that if the CAW can come to a deal with GM, they will support the next step of the restructuring process.

If not, the governments "will provide no financial support and GM Canada will be liquidated," Lewenza said.

"No deal and we are liquidated. The plants close, the jobs are lost, the retiree benefits are gone and the pensions are sacrificed. This is an unbelievable situation."
But Lewenza said the CAW members working for GM would reluctantly, he stressed, go into these negotiations in order to keep the automaker afloat.

"We will ensure that GM's plants are fully competitive with the competition on cost and quality," he said.

"We will do everything we can, despite the betrayal that our members feel today, to reach a new deal by May 15."

Lewenza said the union, however, will not turn its backs on the retired CAW who should not be asked to make sacrifices for their former company.

And he said he will call on thousands of GM workers and retirees to "reactivate" the pension responsibilities of both the struggling Detroit automaker and the government, by making it clear that retired autoworkers are not responsible for the current financial issues.

"Reactivate the responsibility of General Motors and the responsibility of the provincial government, relative to pensions, to make sure that we have jobs for the future and our pensioners are protected, as they thought they were, when they left the workplace," Lewenza said. "Tell them that they are human beings, not legacy costs."

05-07-2009, 03:13 PM	#6
99SSragtop Drives: SS Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 51	CAW forced back to talk to its members, Gulp. Ken Lewenza told reporters at a news conference that the federal and Ontario governments had forced the negotiations to happen, in an ultimatum the CAW president said caught him completely by surprise. "We were called to a meeting yesterday that involved ourselves, General Motors, federal and provincial officials -- a very unusual meeting to say the least," Lewenza said just after 11 a.m. on Thursday morning. "I never dreamed that our labour relations in the auto industry would come to this point," he continued. "The government folks gave us an ultimatum ... we have been instructed to go back into bargaining with General Motors." The union has been told it must come to a new agreement with GM by May 15, Lewenza said, only two months after a similar labour deal was previously negotiated that left the Detroit automaker "fully competitive with the offshore automakers." "Now the governments are telling us to go back to do it all over again," he said. Lewenza said the fact that autoworkers have been forced into voting on a third contract in the same year-long period puts "the credibility of the whole process" into question. The governments have said that if the CAW can come to a deal with GM, they will support the next step of the restructuring process. If not, the governments "will provide no financial support and GM Canada will be liquidated," Lewenza said. "No deal and we are liquidated. The plants close, the jobs are lost, the retiree benefits are gone and the pensions are sacrificed. This is an unbelievable situation." But Lewenza said the CAW members working for GM would reluctantly, he stressed, go into these negotiations in order to keep the automaker afloat. "We will ensure that GM's plants are fully competitive with the competition on cost and quality," he said. "We will do everything we can, despite the betrayal that our members feel today, to reach a new deal by May 15." Lewenza said the union, however, will not turn its backs on the retired CAW who should not be asked to make sacrifices for their former company. And he said he will call on thousands of GM workers and retirees to "reactivate" the pension responsibilities of both the struggling Detroit automaker and the government, by making it clear that retired autoworkers are not responsible for the current financial issues. "Reactivate the responsibility of General Motors and the responsibility of the provincial government, relative to pensions, to make sure that we have jobs for the future and our pensioners are protected, as they thought they were, when they left the workplace," Lewenza said. "Tell them that they are human beings, not legacy costs."