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Workers at General Motors of Canada Ltd. voted yesterday to accept a three-year contract, but sent a clear signal to their union that they weren't entirely happy. But at GM's biggest plant in Oshawa, Ont., only 70 per cent of workers voted in support of the deal -- a number Mr. Hargrove seemed to regard as low.
Workers at General Motors of Canada Ltd. voted yesterday to accept a three-year contract, but sent a clear signal to their union that they weren't entirely happy. But at GM's biggest plant in Oshawa, Ont., only 70 per cent of workers voted in support of the deal -- a number Mr. Hargrove seemed to regard as low.
The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) said Sunday that it had overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year labor contract with General Motors Canada Ltd. ``CAW members from General Motors plants in Windsor, St. Catharines, Oshawa, Ste. Therese, London and Woodstock, voted by 80 percent in favor of a new three-year contract this weekend,'' the Canadian union said late Sunday.
t appears employees at Canada's largest automaker are cruising towards ratification of a new contract this weekend. Workers at the General Motors Boisbriand plant in St. Therese, Que., voted 95 per cent in favour of the deal on Saturday.
Despite the deal, workers at a GM plant in Oshawa, Ont.
staged a wildcat strike Wednesday morning.
The union says a handful of
workers set up a picket at one
gate and a GM spokesperson
says work was delayed for
about two hours at the plant,
which makes Monte Carlo and
Impala models.
The Canadian Auto Workers union reached a tentative deal
with General Motors of Canada Ltd. yesterday that includes $1-billion in
investment in Canada and an agreement to search for a new vehicle for
the endangered Ste-Th�r�se, Que., plant.
GM will also offer 2,500 employees an extra $50,000 to retire in a bid
to reduce at least 2,000 layoffs scheduled over the next three years.
While those job cuts will go ahead, reducing GM's work force in
Canada to about 20,000 from 22,000 now, the union hopes the
$50,000 retirement incentives and generous improvements in pensions
will mean jobs lost by attrition instead of layoffs.
The Canadian Auto Workers union reached a tentative deal
with General Motors of Canada Ltd. yesterday that includes $1-billion in
investment in Canada and an agreement to search for a new vehicle for
the endangered Ste-Th�r�se, Que., plant.
GM will also offer 2,500 employees an extra $50,000 to retire in a bid
to reduce at least 2,000 layoffs scheduled over the next three years.
While those job cuts will go ahead, reducing GM's work force in
Canada to about 20,000 from 22,000 now, the union hopes the
$50,000 retirement incentives and generous improvements in pensions
will mean jobs lost by attrition instead of layoffs.
The likelihood of a strike at General Motors of Canada Inc. dropped a significant notch Monday after
the company said it would not outsource 1,300 jobs in exchange for making a C$1.1 billion investment in its Canadian
operations.
But a company spokesman said that GM ``wants to have a significant business case to make that investment,'' which means the
dollar commitment could shrink.
GM Canada's 22,000 workers are threatening to walk off the
job at midnight Tuesday.
Plans by General Motors of Canada Ltd. to lay off about
700 employees at two plants in Ontario and one in Quebec threaten to
cause a strike by 22,000 Canadian Auto Workers, union president Buzz
Hargrove says.
General Motors of Canada Ltd. has offered the Canadian Auto
Workers union an investment plan of more than $1-billion in three
key plants as well as $100-million in retirement incentives to
thousands of employees wishing to leave early, a senior company
source said yesterday.
However, most of the investment will go to facilities in Oshawa and
St. Catharines, Ont., with very little earmarked for GM's troubled
Ste-Therese, Que., operation.
Saturday, October 16, 1999
Magna International Inc. has turned up the heat in its bid to keep the
Canadian Auto Workers from organizing a key seat-making plant near
Windsor, Ont.
The union claimed victory yesterday and said it will be certified after a
vote at Integram Windsor Seating, in Tecumseh, Ont.
But Magna has asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to throw out
the ballots and ban the CAW from making another attempt to organize
the plant for one year.
The Canadian Auto Workers and Magna International
will go before the Ontario Labour Relations Board on Nov. 15 to resolve disputes
over the certification vote at the company's Integram seating plant.
Workers voted 317-285 Thursday in favour of joining the union, but 54 votes were
sealed and not counted pending arguments from both sides.
The Quebec government is reportedly offering
to inject millions of dollars to keep a General Motors of
Canada plant open.
Current production at the plant in Boisbriand, just north of
Montreal, is expected to end in 2002.
BUZZ HARGROVE STORIES
Union leader Buzz
Hargrove says his bold threat to shut down
DaimlerChrysler Canada over non-union
labour at supplier Magna International was
"posturing" and he couldn't justify a strike on
the issue.
"Bargaining is about posturing and getting
yourself in certain positions," Hargrove said
in an interview Wednesday, the day after
reaching a tentative agreement with
DaimlerChrysler.
"Sometimes you stick your neck out. In this
case, I got clipped a bit."
Buzz Hargrove is sick and tired of
hotel coffee. Over the past three weeks the
leader of the Canadian Auto Workers union
has not been able to walk into a negotiating
room without having someone pour him a cup
of sludge. Mr. Hargrove hints he'd much rather
enjoy a mug or two at his office desk, maybe
while returning a few calls. But all that coffee
has led to some cream and a sharper image
for Mr. Hargrove. When he became president
of the CAW in 1992, the leader was immediately dragged off by union
officials to Harry Rosen for the right suits and later even switched to
designer eyeglasses.
More than 300 CAW leadership at DaimlerChrysler
unanimously voted today in support of the tentative contract reached with the
automaker late Tuesday.
CAW leadership reviewed and endorsed the three-year tentative agreement
at a meeting at a Toronto hotel Thursday morning.
The hard driving Canadian Auto Workers signed a tentative
deal with DaimlerChrysler Canada late Tuesday night but the CAW pulled back on
a plan to get the automaker to help move the union into the parts business.
Negotiations continued behind closed doors to within a couple of hours of the
midnight strike deadline before CAW president Buzz Hargrove emerged to say they
had a deal for their 14,000 members.
A new contract between the Canadian Auto Workers and
DaimlerChrysler Canada depends on whether the company's major parts supplier
will allow its workers to unionize.
CAW president Buzz Hargrove demanded Saturday that DaimlerChrysler force
parts giant Magna International Inc. to recognize the union at five plants or take its
business to another supplier.
Otherwise, almost 14,000 workers will walk out Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., he said at
a news conference during the union's second round of talks with the Big Three
carmakers.
The attempt by the Canadian Auto Workers union to force auto
manufacturers to help them organize Magna International Inc. should
be illegal, if it already isn't. Ford Motor Co. of Canada recently signed
away an inflationary 4.5% increase annually for three years to its
workers, then agreed to sign what the CAW is calling a "neutrality
letter".
Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove
says a decision will be made next week on whether General
Motors or DaimlerChrysler will be next on the union's
bargaining list.
The tentative deal between Ford and the Canadian Auto
Workers is expected to set the tone for labour negotiations
with the other big auto makers.
``Ford's first economic offer, `is a recipe for
a strike''', said CAW president Buzz Hargrove this morning.
``Given the context of record profits and executive salaries, bonuses,
stock options, pensions and perks, and the high quality and productivity of
the plants in Canada, this offer is an insult to Ford workers.''
With a strike deadline only a few days away, there's still plenty
of time for the Canadian Auto Workers union to reach a contract settlement with
Ford Motor Co. of Canada, the union's president says. Buzz Hargrove, speaking to
reporters Thursday, said Ford was expected to table its economic proposal at 10
a.m. EDT Friday. The strike deadline is Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.
Today's press conference announcing Ford as the
target in 1999 auto bargaining can be heard by dialing 416-695-5800 or
1-800-408-3053, password 320426.
CAW members who work at the Big Three automakers in Canada
have voted overwhelmingly to give union negotiators the mandate
to strike, if necessary, to achieve their bargaining demands in the
upcoming round of contract talks.
The Canadian Auto Workers union has Ford of Canada in its
sights.
Union president Buzz Hargrove left little doubt Wednesday the company will be the
initial target once contract bargaining with the Big Three U.S. automakers gets
serious in September. The official word will come Sept. 10. But why Ford? "If we
shut down Ford, we begin to hurt Ford very quickly," Hargrove said during a news
conference at a downtown hotel. "That will force both of us to look at the issues
and find a very quick solution."
CAW president Buzz Hargrove left little doubt
Wednesday his union will target Ford Canada once contract
bargaining with the Big Three U.S. automakers begins in
earnest this fall.
"If we shut down Ford, we begin to
hurt Ford very quickly," Hargrove
said during a news conference
Wednesday. "That will force both of
us to look at the issues and find a
very quick solution."
A strike at Ford of Canada would
leave its U.S. parent vulnerable on
several fronts.
There was much talk of a "new relationship" Tuesday as formal
contract talks officially opened between the Canadian Auto Workers union and
General Motors of Canada Ltd.
But it quickly became clear that the cantankerous bickering that marred the old
relationship will likely emerge in the months ahead after the union said it wants GM
to tell its suppliers to quit harassing employees involved in union drives.
Canada's largest automaker wasn't impressed with the union's suggestion.
"I don't think it's our place to tell our suppliers how to run their businesses," said Al
Green, GM Canada's chief contract negotiator.
The Canadian Auto Workers Union says it is the
victim of vicious anti-union tactics being used by a number of
companies that supply parts to the Big Three auto makers.
Forecasts of friction and acrimony at this week's
contract talks between the Canadian Auto Workers and
General Motors came true today as the parties battled over
the actions of GM's suppliers. Today the union said it wants
GM to tell its suppliers to quit harassing employees involved
in union drives.
CAW leader Buzz Hargrove said the
Big Three automakers -- GM, Ford
and DaimlerChrysler -- routinely
send management teams into
suppliers' plants to make changes to
production.
Hargrove also noted that Ford
Motor Co. in the United States once asked a seat supplier to
settle a dispute over a union drive or else it would cancel the
contract.
Contract talks start Tuesday between the Big
Three automakers and the Canadian Autoworkers Union.
Union president Buzz Hargrove is spending three days with
officials from Ford, General Motors, and Daimler Chrysler.
The last round of talks in 1995 resulted in a 22-day strike. It
shut down GM plants across North America.
The Canadian Auto Workers union, General Motors,
Ford and Daimler/Chrysler open talks for the 1999 collective bargaining
session next week. The current three year contracts with the auto companies
expire September 21. The key issue in this round of bargaining will be
pensions.
When bargaining opens today in Toronto with
the Big Three automakers, the Canadian Auto
Workers union will be trying to turn the clock
back 20 years -- when annual wage increases of
three per cent a year were the industry norm.
The CAW last had three-per-cent wage hikes in
all three years of a contract in 1979.
Since then, two major recessions, near
bankruptcies by both Ford and Chrysler in the
1980s and heavy losses by General Motors in
the early 1990s repeatedly dashed union hopes of wage
increases on that scale.
But eyeing the record profits made by the Big Three in the past
six years and hefty increases in salaries and bonuses paid to auto
executives, both the CAW and United Auto Workers in the U.S.
are talking about a return to traditional wage increases of three
per cent in this round of bargaining.
Three downtown hotels will be the scene this week for the
beginning of a complex and tedious ritual: contract negotiations between the
Canadian Auto Workers union and the Big Three automakers.
Union president Buzz Hargrove will meet with management from General Motors
on Tuesday, Ford on Wednesday and DaimlerChrysler on Thursday. After each
meeting, there will be a news conference during which Hargrove will grit his teeth
and recite a long list of demands.
But the one question on everyone's mind will be: "Will there be a strike?"
If history is a guide, the answer is, "Probably."
Since 1970, the union has staged strikes during every set of industry-wide contract
negotiations, except in 1993. That's nine strikes in 16 years. The average walkout
lasted about 26 days.
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