News & Events Archived Newsletters CONTACT 2007 September 7, 2007Oshawa Truck Plant Layoffs Devastating, Hargrove Says
CAW Local 222 members who work at GM's Oshawa, Ontario truck plant were informed August 30 that the auto maker plans to eliminate a production shift, resulting in the loss of more than 1200 jobs.
"This is devastating news for our members," said CAW President Buzz Hargrove. "Many of the workers that will be laid-off are young people with young families and mortgages."
Hargrove said the Oshawa announcement is a continuation of the decline of Canada's most important industry, where CAW members jobs are being destroyed by unfair trade.
"By the end of this year, we'll have a $6 billion trade deficit. The situation is getting even worse. This is not inevitable - but it takes government leadership. Every country in the world understands the importance of the auto industry, except for Canada."
"What we're seeing now is the gradual erosion of the middle class in Canada," Hargrove said. He stressed that the union will keep fighting to protect and build the industry and jobs.
The CAW has issued a statement on the layoff at the Oshawa GM truck plant, which outlines that at least $100 million of annual family incomes in the region will be lost as a result of the decision. Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is taken to task for not taking action on manufacturing job loss and for promoting the badly flawed "feebate" program, which taxes larger North American vehicles and subsidizes smaller imports.
To read the complete statement visit:
http://www.caw.ca/news/newsnow/news.asp?artID=1508
Manufacturing Jobs Matter at Labour Day
Toronto
More than 5,000 CAW members marched through the central artery of the city as the CAW led the Toronto Labour Day parade. Banners, signs and floats all highlighted the importance of defending manufacturing jobs.
In speeches by CAW President Buzz Hargrove, City of Toronto Mayor David Miller, Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti and Toronto and York Region Labour Council President John Cartwright before the march, manufacturing job loss and Buy Canadian policies were central themes.
"Every sector in every part of the economy is being affected by manufacturing job loss," said Hargrove. "We will not quit fighting until we get foreign markets to buy on a reciprocal basis or close our markets," he said, on the current crisis resulting from unbalanced trade in auto.
Speaking about the importance of buying domestic, Miller said politicians shouldn't be sending high tech jobs out of the province or country. "Are we going to invest public money in high quality jobs in the best quality technology in Ontario or in China?" asked Miller. "To me, it's obvious, we invest in jobs in Ontario," he said.
Windsor
Thousands of CAW members marched in the Labour Day parade, making up the majority of the more than 6,000 participants. Fiery speeches about continuing to work to defend manufacturing jobs, along with some family activities completed the day.
Edmonton
Local CAW members took part in the annual Labour Day charity barbeque hosted by the Edmonton and District Labour Council. CAW members cooked & served more that 2,500 hotdogs to the city's homeless, unemployed and working poor.
Kitchener
CAW local unions participated in a picnic hosted by the Waterloo Region Labour Council, an annual fundraiser for the area United Way.
Oshawa
More than 500 people took part in the second annual Labour Day picnic, featuring music, food and speeches.
St. Catharines
More than 150 CAW members took part in the annual Labour Day parade, along with other local unions.
Port Elgin
To kick off the annual CAW Retirees Conference, hundreds of retirees marched through the streets, culminating with a speech by former CAW President Bob White.
London
CAW members served food to the public in the annual Labour Day picnic hosted by the London District Labour Council, with more than 2,000 people in attendance, including local MPs and MPPs.
Halifax & Sydney
More than a thousand CAW members joined with other area unions in the two locations in the official Labour Day launch of the Right to Strike campaign for health care workers.
Sudbury
Several hundred CAW members took part in the annual Sudbury District Labour Council parade and picnic, with food and activities for children.
Ontario Announces $56.6 Million for Long-Term Care Facilities
The City of Thunder Bay, long-term care workers and aging residents had a reason to celebrate going into the Labour Day weekend with an announcement by provincial Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman of $56.6 million for new long-term care facilities.
The new investment by the province will help create 336 new long term care beds and 132 new supportive housing units, with an additional 100 new jobs. The responsibility for the two facilities will be shifted from the city's jurisdiction to the province and St. Joseph's Care Group in 2009.
The new investment by the province will help create 336 new long term care beds and 132 new supportive housing units, with an additional 100 new jobs.
The August 31 announcement comes after nearly a year of lobbying the provincial government to adopt the homes from the city. For years prior, CAW Local 229 and the national union had also lobbied the Thunder Bay city council to keep possession of the two city homes.
CAW Local 229 President Andy Savela and CAW National Representative Tom Murphy were both on site for the announcement and both indicated that the province's funding announcement is welcome news.
"We are very pleased with this commitment by the provincial government that will not only maintain the quality of the homes, but create new jobs," said Savela. "This was a five year campaign that resulted in a major victory for our workers and our union." Savela is also a Thunder Bay city councilor.
The fate of the homes and more than 400 CAW Local 229 workers employed there had been uncertain since Thunder Bay city council voted in 2005 and then again in November 2006 to turn over the facilities to the province.
"This announcement is thanks to the hard work of the national and local unions that have had a major campaign over the last five years to ensure that workers at the city homes will have a job for the future," said Murphy.
CAW Locals Launch Campaign to Protect Bombardier Jobs
CAW Locals 112 and 673 have launched a joint campaign to protect Bombardier jobs in Toronto, which builds off the national "Manufacturing Matters" campaign.
It is expected that within the next three years Bombardier will be able to send offshore all work from its aerospace complex in Toronto, threatening the future of one of Canada's oldest factories. This will devastate the Downsview community.
Dozens of jobs have already been outsourced from the Downsview facility, including wire harness and office work.
"They [Bombardier] are taking jobs out of Toronto," said CAW Local 112 President Roland Kiehne. "Our fear is this is just the tip of the iceberg."
The union fears that over 400 jobs will be lost by 2009 as Bombardier continues to set up production overseas, in countries like Mexico and India.
Maria Pinto, President of CAW Local 673, stated that the practice of sending jobs offshore is unfair and detrimental to the Canadian economy.
Toronto City Councillor Maria Augimeri, Toronto and York Region District Labour Council President John Cartwright participated in the launch alongside CAW Aerospace Director Dawn Cartwright, Local 112 deHavilland plant chairperson Merv Gray, Local 673 office unit chair Gus Goncalves and other local leadership.
The CAW represents 2700 production and skilled trades' workers as well as 380 office workers at Bombardier in Toronto.
For more information on this campaign visit:
www.caw112.on.ca .
Big Three COLA: on or after September 1, 2007 and Wage Increase
The COLA adjustment at GM, Ford and Chrysler effective for the first pay period on or after September 1, 2007, will be 26¢. When added to the previous float of $1.11, the amount will now total $1.37. Also, effective September 17, 2007, there will be a general wage increase of $0.30 to the base rate.
Total straight time earnings for an assembler at GM, Ford and Chrysler will be as follows:
| GM Assembler | GM Prod.Tech. | Ford | Chrysler | |
| Previous Base Rate | $32.25 | $32.54 | $32.24 | $32.24 |
| Previous COLA Float | $1.11 | $1.11 | $1.11 | $1.11 |
| New COLA Adjustment | .26 | .26 | .26 | .26 |
| New COLA Float | $1.37 | $1.37 | $1.37 | $1.37 |
| Total Straight Time Earnings | $33.62 | $33.91 | $33.61 | $33.61 |
| General Wage Increase | $0.30 | $0.30 | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| New Base Rate | $32.55 | $32.84 | $32.54 | $32.54 |
| Total Straight Time Earnings (on or after September 17, 2007) | $33.92 | $34.21 | $33.91 | $33.91 |
| GM | Ford | Chrysler | |
| Previous Base Rate | $38.64 | $38.64 | $38.64 |
| Previous COLA Float | $1.11 | $1.11 | $1.11 |
| New COLA Adjustment | .26 | .26 | .26 |
| New COLA Float | $1.37 | $1.37 | $1.37 |
| Total Straight Time Earnings | $40.01 | $40.01 | $40.01 |
| General Wage Increase | .30 | .30 | .30 |
| New Base Rate | $38.94 | $38.94 | $38.94 |
| Total Straight Time Earnings (on or after September 17, 2007 | $40.31 | $40.31 | $40.31 |
The conference theme is "Move Forward Together, or Fend for Yourself? The Future of Canadian Pensions." The conference will demonstrate the value of Canadians moving "forward together" in retirement through cooperative pension policy.
The conference is being held at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel. Updates on the conference can be found at www.canadianlabour.ca. The deadline for registration, which can be completed online, is October 17.
Long-Term Nursing Home Renewal in Ontario
The Ontario Government has announced that redevelopment of Blue Water Rest Home, a 65 bed non-profit nursing home in Zurich, Ontario represented by CAW Local 2458 is to become a pilot project.
The pilot project will influence the re-development of up to 35,000 nursing home beds in Ontario and ensure small and rural communities are not forced out of providing LTC services.
The Ministry of Health has announced its commitment to ensure equitable access and maintain a strong role for smaller rural homes often operated by non-profit groups. The lessons learned in redeveloping Blue Water will be applied to other LTC beds over the next 10 years as part of the Long Term Care Home Renewal Strategy.
CAW Local 2458 President Bruce Dickie welcomes the strategy as an initiative necessary to preventing such facilities from being acquired by for-profit corporations with beds and residents moved to large urban centres away from rural communities and families.
CAW Local 302 President and NEB Member Nancy McMurphy; herself an employee of a non-profit nursing home in Komoka, notes that Ontario has become the only province where for-profit companies hold the majority of LTC licenses and support for non profit charitable and municipal homes is long overdue.
Non profit homes often have higher staffing levels and greater quality of care, said Dickie. This is achieved by re-investing any surplus to maintain quality while multinational corporations such as Extendicare and Chartwell received public funding for new capital investment and continue to yield huge profits for investors.
Working Families Coalition Pre-Election Campaign
The Working Families' Coalition has launched their pre-election campaign with a series of TV commercials on education, health care, poverty and water safety and an interactive website. The CAW continues to be a sponsor of the Working Families' Coalition, along with a number of other labour unions in Ontario.
Initially formed in 2003, the Working Families' Coalition came together to publicize the devastating impacts the Conservative Harris-Eves government policies were having on the lives of working people.
The program of tax cuts and slashing of public programs advocated by Mike Harris and Ernie Eves in the decade prior had eroded Ontario's social infrastructure. Working families suffered from the chronic underfunding of schools, drastic cuts to social services and the removal of important labour and health and safety standards.
As Ontarians head to the polls October 10, the Working Families' Coalition encourages voters to act in the best interests of working families and keep out a Conservative government with John Tory at the helm.
For more information, visit: www.workingfamilies.ca
More Women In Unions Than Men, A First Ever In Canada
Women are joining unions in greater numbers than men for the first time in Canadian labour history, according to a recent Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. The number of women in unions has increased each year over the last 10 years to the point that women have finally tipped the scales. The most recent data, from January to June 2007, finds 2,248,000 women represented by unions, with 2,237,200 men represented. "Increasingly women see unions as more than just better wages and benefits," said Julie White, CAW Director of Women's Programs. "Women see unions at the forefront of fighting for issues like child care and an end to violence against women." The higher numbers of unionized women also reflect the larger range of sectors now represented by unions such as retail, health care and hospitality, which are dominated by women. The CAW has an ongoing national child care campaign and also lobbies the government for policies and programs that target violence against women. The CAW has also negotiated the training and funding for a women's advocate in many workplaces across the country.
