Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 Forum - View Single Post - Workers in Oshawa, Ontario threaten strike against GM

camaro5 · 05-06-2008, 02:47 AM

The good news is they are going to start talking...

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TORONTO - Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove says he will not sign a new labour contract with General Motors Corp. unless the company pledges new vehicle and parts programs for its Ontario factories.

"We can't ratify with GM without the product commitments at all locations," including the automaker's truck and car assembly plants in Oshawa, its transmission plant in Windsor, and engine factory in St. Catharines, Hargrove said Monday.

The brinkmanship by Hargrove came after the CAW secured a new three-year labour contract with Ford Motor Co. in ratification votes held over the weekend. A final tally of the results confirmed 67 per cent of the CAW's 9,000 Ford members voted yes to the deal, the union said.

Hargrove said the union would start discussions with GM on Thursday.

Under so-called pattern bargaining at Detroit's traditional three automakers, a labour agreement struck at one company is typically used as the model for deals at the other two. The CAW will also hold an initial meeting with Chrysler today to try to trigger bargaining, Hargrove said. The union cannot strike GM or Chrysler until its collective agreement expires in September.

As part of its main goal to protect jobs, the United Auto Workers, the CAW's sister union in the United States, won guarantees from GM last year that promised specific vehicles will be built in specific U.S. plants. The deal also specified the production life cycles of the vehicles. For example, GM pledged that the Pontiac G6 would continue to be built in Orion, Mich., until 2013, according to the union.

The CAW wants a similar commitment. GM has yet to announce a new vehicle for Oshawa beyond the upcoming redesigned Chevrolet Camaro muscle car. The company is pitching a $700-million project that would see it make more fuel-efficient transmissions at the St. Catharines facility and step up environmental research at its engineering centre in Oshawa.

GM has insisted in background discussions with some media outlets that it needs to narrow a $30.25-per-hour labour gap disadvantage its Canadian plants have against U.S. factories operated by Japanese manufacturers. The CAW has rejected that comparison. It says the new Ford deal brings costs generally in line with those of the UAW at about $60 per hour.

"For us to continue to earn our mandates here in Canada, we've got to keep pace with that and ideally go even further," David Paterson, GM Canada's vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs, said in an interview on April 25. "The cupboard is bare."

Stacey Firth, Ford's chief negotiator in the CAW deal, said the agreement contains several immediate cost savings that will help Ford's bottom line.

They include wage freezes, outsourcing of non-core work, a one-week reduction in vacation pay, and 30 minutes of added production at its Oakville assembly plant.

She said Ford continues to look at the $30 cost gap with Japanese manufacturers as a benchmark, but that it wasn't realistic to expect CAW members would accept such a dramatic erosion of their pay and benefits to cut that gap.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...3-eeed0a5f5eec

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05-06-2008, 02:47 AM	#19
camaro5 Drives: X-15 Velocipede Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Florida Posts: 4,630	Union leader demands work guarantees from General Motors The good news is they are going to start talking... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- TORONTO - Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove says he will not sign a new labour contract with General Motors Corp. unless the company pledges new vehicle and parts programs for its Ontario factories. "We can't ratify with GM without the product commitments at all locations," including the automaker's truck and car assembly plants in Oshawa, its transmission plant in Windsor, and engine factory in St. Catharines, Hargrove said Monday. The brinkmanship by Hargrove came after the CAW secured a new three-year labour contract with Ford Motor Co. in ratification votes held over the weekend. A final tally of the results confirmed 67 per cent of the CAW's 9,000 Ford members voted yes to the deal, the union said. Hargrove said the union would start discussions with GM on Thursday. Under so-called pattern bargaining at Detroit's traditional three automakers, a labour agreement struck at one company is typically used as the model for deals at the other two. The CAW will also hold an initial meeting with Chrysler today to try to trigger bargaining, Hargrove said. The union cannot strike GM or Chrysler until its collective agreement expires in September. As part of its main goal to protect jobs, the United Auto Workers, the CAW's sister union in the United States, won guarantees from GM last year that promised specific vehicles will be built in specific U.S. plants. The deal also specified the production life cycles of the vehicles. For example, GM pledged that the Pontiac G6 would continue to be built in Orion, Mich., until 2013, according to the union. The CAW wants a similar commitment. GM has yet to announce a new vehicle for Oshawa beyond the upcoming redesigned Chevrolet Camaro muscle car. The company is pitching a $700-million project that would see it make more fuel-efficient transmissions at the St. Catharines facility and step up environmental research at its engineering centre in Oshawa. GM has insisted in background discussions with some media outlets that it needs to narrow a $30.25-per-hour labour gap disadvantage its Canadian plants have against U.S. factories operated by Japanese manufacturers. The CAW has rejected that comparison. It says the new Ford deal brings costs generally in line with those of the UAW at about $60 per hour. "For us to continue to earn our mandates here in Canada, we've got to keep pace with that and ideally go even further," David Paterson, GM Canada's vice-president of corporate and environmental affairs, said in an interview on April 25. "The cupboard is bare." Stacey Firth, Ford's chief negotiator in the CAW deal, said the agreement contains several immediate cost savings that will help Ford's bottom line. They include wage freezes, outsourcing of non-core work, a one-week reduction in vacation pay, and 30 minutes of added production at its Oakville assembly plant. She said Ford continues to look at the $30 cost gap with Japanese manufacturers as a benchmark, but that it wasn't realistic to expect CAW members would accept such a dramatic erosion of their pay and benefits to cut that gap. http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...3-eeed0a5f5eec . __________________ Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge General Motors ASEP, A.S. Automotive Technology, Telecommunications Specialist, CISCO Network Engineer STANDARD DISCLAIMER camaro5 is furnishing this information "as is". camaro5 does not provide any warranty of the information whatsoever, whether express, implied, or statutory, including, but not limited to, any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any warranty that the contents of the information will be error-free.