Filed under: Trucks/Pickups, GM, UAW/Unions
CAW ends blockade of GM Canada headquarters
The Canadian Auto Workers union and General Motors have been less than friendly with one another since the automaker announced it would be closing its Oshawa Truck plant, and the union promises to "fight on" despite ending a 13-day protest/blockade that prevented some 900 GM employees from going to work at the company's Canadian headquarters. It took a court injunction to end the blockade, but union representatives say they are planning their next move to stop GM from closing Oshawa Truck, which employs around 2,600 workers. But with truck sales tanking on account of high gas prices and less new home construction in the U.S., it seems unlikely the General will change its mind to scuttle the plant. There is talk of converting it to produce passenger cars in the near future, but even if the decision were made to do so today, the plant would still be closed for one to two years before it reopened. For now, however, GM's white collar workers in Canada can get back to work without enduring the rank and file gauntlet.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd, Photo by Simon Hayter/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
geo.stewart 10:54AM (6/16/2008)
well yes of course, with an employee base using tactics like that, I know I would be wanting to figure out how to continue to utilize them! What a dream.
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Gardiner Westbound 11:19AM (6/16/2008)
The Neanderthal union blockade was likely the final nail in the coffin for the Oshawa truck plant. CAW intransigence had already given it the highest North American labor costs.
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Mr.K 11:31AM (6/16/2008)
The plant has also been named the most efficient car plant in North America. They can't be doing everything wrong.
At least their 2 car plants were, I don't know about the truck one in particular.
Big Rocket 1:01PM (6/16/2008)
Mr.K: Even if the Oshawa Truck plant has 100% efficiency producing trucks, efficiency means nothing if the trucks don't sell. This is why GM plans to close it down, plain and simple.
Mr.K 3:20PM (6/16/2008)
For sure, I see that reason, however, I would think that it would be a better idea to move another car line into the plant to run it at low capacity rather than shutting it down completely.
Remember, this is GM we're talking about, the company trying to turn it's image around as a company that makes poor quality cars and is inefficient in producing them. Doesn't seem reasonable to take one of their best plants (no matter the product) and shut it down.
Big Rocket 5:09PM (6/16/2008)
Mr.K: But isn't that exactly what GM is planning? According to the Autoblog article, "There is talk of converting it to produce passenger cars in the near future, but even if the decision were made to do so today, the plant would still be closed for one to two years before it reopened."
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/16/caw-ends-blockade-of-gm-canada-headquarters/
Big Rocket 5:12PM (6/16/2008)
I should add as an FYI: the US Big 3 doesn't have the flexible manufacturing capabilities of the Japanese automakers, which means the retooling of factories from one vehicle to another takes time, during which the plant remains shut down for production.
Chris 11:47AM (6/16/2008)
Never has the rank been so evident in rank & file
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MajorGeek 12:27PM (6/16/2008)
Frankly, you would think the unions would understand. Afterr all, they have been downsizing and closing up shops for years.
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Borger 12:34PM (6/16/2008)
GM needs to start weeding out the bad unions by only sending New Product to plants and unions that play ball with GM. For example, GM should assign a new car to Wilmington, since they actually try to work with GM, and close the Oshawa Truck plant for it's blockade of GM Canada's Headquarters.
If it were my company, that's exactly what I would do.
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Goat Law 12:53PM (6/16/2008)
The guy in the middle is priceless.
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Yar 1:00PM (6/16/2008)
I like how he brought his lunch from home.
michael 6:32PM (6/16/2008)
Being from Canada i just want to comment on Something. You (MOSTLY AMERICANS) seem to be very anti-union without unions your jobs would be sent off to asia as there would be noone stopping the big man. and in AMERICA thats whats going on. You constantly bitch and complain about OUTSOURCING and yet when people in CANADA try to stop it you whine.. And dont tell me this isnt about outsourcing it is. When they close this plant they're probably going to start building more cars in mexico instead of oshawa.. (by the way im a pilot and in a union not a CAW worker) Gently Caress you people for putting down these hard working individuals that are standing up for justice
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geo.stewart 8:04PM (6/16/2008)
high union costs are what drive GM and Ford to build overseas. Toyota and Hyundai and Honda dont seem to have a problem building here instead of mexico.
difference? union.
Big Rocket 8:16PM (6/16/2008)
michael:
1. "without unions your jobs would be sent off to asia"
At the Big 3, the higher cost of union labor leads to a higher cost of production. This higher production cost is passed on to the consumer in terms of a higher sticker price, or a lower level of content and quality for domestic vehicles. This makes union-made American vehicles less competitive, and causes the Big 3 to lose market share over time. The reduction in market share leads to a reduction in production, a reduction in jobs, and the closure of manufacturing plants. The UAW does not promote job security; instead, it leads to job loss. The UAW is the disease, not the cure.
2. "these hard working individuals..."
Union fanboys and apologists would like the public to believe the union drones do back-breaking manual labor to put cars together, but that just not true at all. In typical manufacturing plants for the Big 3, hydraulic overhead cranes are used to lift heavy objects, and pneumatic wrenches are used to fasten nuts and bolts. These are push-button equipment that require little to no physical effort to operate. In addition, the manufacturing plants are very clean, air-conditioned during summer, and heated during winter. They are a far cry from the bleak sweatshops some imagine them to be.
Hydraulic lifts in use: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/01/do-you-think-that-the-chrysler-employeess-buyout-offer-was-fair/
Pneumatic power tools in use: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/15/jeep-employees-pissed-about-chrysler-sale-use-photo-71730996-f/
3. "... standing up for justice"
Justice? There is no justice when union drones cost the Big 3 about $60 - $67 an hour to push buttons all day long in an air-conditioned building. Where is the justice when this excessively high labor cost bleeds the Big 3 dry?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/business/23auto.html?ex=1300770000&en=57ea081b0a798618&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601209&sid=aRxTHKjUeS7w&refer=transportation
4. "You constantly bitch and complain about OUTSOURCING and yet when people in CANADA try to stop it you whine..."
Have you been to a picket line? Those striking crybabies are the ones doing all the complaining and whining.
Big Rocket 8:24PM (6/16/2008)
michael: Apparently, one way to prevent outsourcing is to strike and put the company out of business.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/16/strike-against-no-2-car-hauler-puts-it-out-of-business/
Mr.K 10:56PM (6/16/2008)
"In addition, the manufacturing plants are very clean, air-conditioned during summer, and heated during winter. "
Thats not necessarily true. At least where I worked (building GM Truck frames and Jeep front ends), it was about 50 degrees celcius at times in the summer, and I can remember it being cold enough inside during the winter that there was actually snow falling on me and my hands had frostbite in the morning (with 3 pairs of gloves on). It was sort of a random occasion, but there was certainly no heating/AC happening, and my line essentially had a boiler attached to the end of it.
Rich 10:00AM (6/17/2008)
You got to be kidding me. Hard working? Obviously you've never done much. Try going to school and getting a half decent degree.
Newsflash: Companies do not owe the workforce anything. Absolutely nothing.
geo.stewart 8:05PM (6/16/2008)
and technically, CN is an outsource for US. Soooo, if we bring it back to the US, less outsourcing, if we ship to Mexico, no difference
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Snix 10:52PM (6/16/2008)
Two words: You're fired.
I'd hand them pink slips on their way down the ladder coming down from the roof or whatever they were standing on.
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