Union warns walkout looms in talks with DaimlerChrysler
CAW vows to fight plans to eliminate up to 2,500 jobs Firm is ‘optimistic we can find common ground’
DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. is heading for a strike in five days if the auto giant insists on eliminating about 2,500 jobs through a plant closing and outsourcing work, union leaders say.
“ If I was predicting today, we’ll be on the picket line, forced there by DaimlerChrysler,” Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, said yesterday.
“ Based on the company’s position in bargaining to date, there’s no way to avoid a strike.”
His comments came moments after he named DaimlerChrysler as the union’s target for matching a tentative contract at Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. He said if DaimlerChrysler does not accept the Ford deal and remove demands to eliminate jobs, about 11,440 CAW members will walk off the job at midnight next Tuesday.
“ If there is a dispute, it will be forced by DaimlerChrysler,” Hargrove added.
DaimlerChrysler would not comment about Hargrove’s prediction of a strike but acknowledged a lot of work remains before negotiators can reach a deal. “We have a productive relationship with the CAW and their Chrysler bargaining team and, although much hard work needs to be done, we are optimistic we can find common ground,” said Mark Gendregske, DaimlerChrysler’s chief negotiator. The last strike at Chrysler was in 1987, when workers walked over the issue of indexing pensions to provide inflation protection for retirees. The union won the indexing provision after a five- day walkout.
Hargrove said he is pessimistic about the chances of avoiding a strike because the company has remained extremely firm in implementing deep job cuts during bargaining, which started in July. The union’s estimate of job losses represents about 22 per cent of the company’s production workforce in Canada. The union’s revelation about the impact of company demands follows a tentative threeyear agreement with struggling Ford that includes the loss of 1,100 jobs over the next three years at parts operations in Windsor.
Parent Ford Motor Co. is set to announce a restructuring plan within the next two months that will result in plant closings across the continent.
However, Hargrove has said that DaimlerChrysler is booming in Canada while Ford is struggling and needs to cut output because of sliding sales and heavy financial losses in North America.
“ They’re completely different situations,” he said. “ Our members at DaimlerChrysler are productive and build quality vehicles. They don’t deserve to lose their jobs when all the company is interested in is making more money for their shareholders.” Union officials said DaimlerChrysler wants to buy bigger parts modules from outside suppliers for assembly at its Windsor and Brampton plants. That would eliminate about 1,000 jobs at the Windsor assembly plant and another 700 at the Brampton facility, according to Ken Lewenza, chairman of the union’s bargaining committee.
DaimlerChrysler has also indicated in bargaining that it wants to close its casting plant in Etobicoke, which would wipe out about 450 jobs. The company also wants to contract out about 300 jobs in its transportation department and another 85 in security services at the Windsor operation, said Lewenza, who is also president of CAW Local 444 in Windsor.
“ They’re obsessed with bringing down the number of hours it takes to build a vehicle and benchmarking it against their competitors,” he said.
In addition to matching modest wage increases and pension improvements in the Ford deal, the union wants DaimlerChrysler to make investments for a paint shop and maintain its position as the lead minivan plant in Windsor for the next generation of minivans. Union officials said DaimlerChrysler workers in Windsor are edgy about their future because of a shrinking market for minivans overall combined with formidable competition. The union is also seeking renewal of a letter that would commit DaimlerChrysler to building its next new North American assembly plant in the Windsor area after backing off two major investments during the past six years.
Hargrove had in recent days considered the possibility of making General Motors of Canada Ltd. the strike target, but said the company is showing resistance to some terms in the Ford deal.
Ford workers will vote on the tentative contract this weekend. The union’s bargaining committee is unanimously recommending acceptance.
Ford says more plant closings possible in North America.
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