Autoblog

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]

Despite rising tensions (and a lawsuit) between General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union, the automaker may be interested in adding a new car line at its soon-to-closed truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario. Though that plant was originally scheduled to stay open a few more years, slumping sales of full-size trucks built there have forced GM to announce its early closure along with three other pickup and SUV plants. Since that announcement, union workers have barricaded GM Canada's headquarters for the last eight days in protest, which we'd imagine might make it difficult for GM management to negotiate with union officials... but what do we know?

According to The Detroit News, however, GM has been talking with Ontario's Economic Development and Trade Minister, Sandra Pupatello, who says that the government is very interested in securing the new vehicle line as quickly as possible. Even if a decision is made in short order, it is likely the plant's 2,600 workers would be out of work for up to two years after the closes and before its ready again with new tooling for a passenger car line.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Hold on to your britches folks. General Motors dealings with the Canadian Auto Workers union just took another turn for the worse. GM, like every other full-line automaker selling vehicles in the United States, has been unable to move as many pickup trucks as it had hoped since the price of gas has spiked. In response to the shifting tide of vehicle sales and to slow the huge financial hemorrhaging, GM announced about eight days ago that it would be closing four plants that build trucks and SUVs, including one in Oshawa, Ontario. Unfortunately, the General had recently promised to keep that particular plant open for a few more years, so the announcement more than irked the Union officials from up north.

Here's where things get real ugly. In retaliation, the CAW has blockaded the entrance to the GM headquarters in Canada for the last eight days. As you might imagine, GM has a slight problem with this and has taken the matter to court, where documents reveal that the automaker wants C$250,000 from the local union and five of its members for a total of $1.5 million in damages. We're not sure if this impending lawsuit will impact the Union's plans for a rally this Thursday in the parking lot of the Oshawa headquarters, but it's probably safe to say that this situation won't have a happy ending.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The dust hasn't settled yet on General Motors' announcement that it will be closing an additional four plants, but the Canadian Auto Workers union is already foaming at the mouth. The CAW organized 30 trucks to block GM Canada's headquarters in response to the company's decision to close its Oshawa truck plant. The Oshawa plant produces the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups, production of which the General has reduced sharply in response to slow sales. The Canadian union says it won't move the trucks, which is blocking all vehicular traffic, until it meets with GM officials. While the CAW is letting pedestrians on foot through the blockade, we wouldn't be surprised if bipedal passage comes accompanied by a few colorful words that would make a sailor blush.

While the CAW would never want to lose a plant under any circumstances, the rank and file are particularly angry this time because the news came only two weeks after GM promised to keep the plant open through most of 2009. GM also promised that the plant would build its next generation light-duty pickup. In the automaker's defense, GM needs to make tough decisions quickly because of this rapidly changing market, and unions don't really react as the wind blows.

Other unions affected by the four plant closings are also miffed, but none went so far as those crazy Canadians. The union at GM's Moraine, Ohio plant, for instance, expressed its displeasure with being closed and has stated publicly that it plans to fight the closings, but considering that it builds the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x, we'd say there isn't much hope for union workers in Moraine, OH.

[Source: CBC]

Shortly after reaching an agreement with Ford, the Canadian Auto Workers union announced the rather surprising news that it had reached tentative agreements with both General Motors and Chrysler. These deals come about four months before the deadline for a deal was to be hit and stand in stark contrast to the protracted negotiations that recently took place between the Big Three and the CAW's American counterpart, the UAW. Under the new deal, GM promises to keep its Oshawa, Ontario plant open until 2012 and offers buyouts worth up to $125,000 to workers at the Windsor transmission plant, which will soon be shut down. Chrysler, for its part, agreed to continue producing minivans at its Windsor assembly site, continue producing the 300C in Brampton, Ontario and keep its Toronto casting plant open until 2011.

CAW President Buzz Hargrove calls the tentative deals "a win-win" for both the union workers and the automakers. Union workers in Canada will get the chance to vote on the contracts later this month. A GM vote is planned for Friday, May 16. Chrysler's contract vote will follow on Saturday, May 17.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

When the second quarter of 2010 rolls along, 1,400 workers at General Motor's Windsor transmission factory will be out of work. The plant, which currently produces four-speed gearboxes for GM, will be phased out at the turn of the decade, with no plans to retool the facility to produce any other components. GM's Canada President, Arturo Elias, made it clear in the announcement that the decision was not a "reflection on our excellent Windsor workforce," but instead is due to a lack of available, "replacement products in the relevant timeframe for this location." Fortunately or unfortunately, today's announcement of the plant's closing takes place as the General negotiates a new contract with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union.

[Source: Detroit News]

General Motors has been dealing with a lot of strikes lately. The United Auto Worker union's strike against one of its main suppliers, American Axle, has been reducing the General's inventory of trucks and SUVs for about a month now, and also threatened production of the Chevy Malibu before the automaker found more parts to keep production going. Just yesterday the UAW walked out of GM's Lansing Delta Township plant where the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn are built. The latter strike is over what the UAW has only referred to as "local contract issues". Whatever those are, they are important enough to come back today and threaten GM with a walk out at its Fairfax plant, one of the two facilities that builds the hot-selling Chevy Malibu. The union has set a five-day ultimatum, and says it will walk out on Malibu production next Tuesday, April 22 if an agreement isn't reached. The other plant building Malibus is in the Detroit suburb of Orion, but it only builds 2,100 Malibus per week compared to the 3,100 units per week built at the Fairfax plant. Clearly the UAW knows exactly where GM is most vulnerable, and its aiming a strike right at it.


[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Just hours after threatening to strike at one or more GM plants, the UAW and the General have agreed on two-tier wages for certain job types. The move to clarify which jobs were "non-core" at the national level came as local UAWs were threatening to strike because they felt GM was asking for too many lower-paid positions at their plants. The more regimented deal identifies 16,000 positions that will soon be paid $14 per hour, which will save GM up to a half-billion dollars per year. It will take years to fill all of those positions because GM has to entice existing workers to retire before they can be replaced.

[Source: Detroit News]

A key part of the labor contract signed between GM and the UAW last year was a second tier of wages for non-crucial, i.e. not involved with building a car, job roles. As higher-paid workers take buyouts and retirement packages over the next few months, the General is allowed replace up to 16,000 roles with lower wages that are half what current workers make at around $14he contract stipulates the total number of second tier jobs, but some union officials say GM has raised the per-plant number at all locations.

While some locals feel they have been fairly represented, at least three feel that GM is trying to allocate too much of their labor as "non-core." The Orion, Michigan plant that produces the Malibu and G6, for example, is being tasked with 580 tier two jobs, while union locals feel the number is actually closer to 300. Union leaders say the solution will need to come from additional bargaining, as if we aren't still burned out on union talk as it is. The good news is that any problems the two sides may have will likely be solved by the end of summer, as July 1 is when buyouts start to take effect and GM will have to start hiring new workers to replace them.

[Source: Detroit News]

The nine-day-old UAW strike on American Axle has already halted production at five GM plants and seven suppliers, and the two sides have yet to hit the bargaining table. That will change today, as both sides at least agree that they should be trying to reach an accord. The two sides are still far from agreeing on anything else, however, as American Axle wants to cut wage and benefit costs in half, even though the parts supplier is currently profitable.

Following the pattern of wage cuts at other suppliers, American Axle is prepared to offer buyout packages of $80,000 to $110,000. American Axle may also offer buy-down deals that will give workers a bonus for a number of years to cushion the blow of wage cuts. So far the strike has done little to hurt GM, as the automaker has been able to pare-down SUV and truck inventories while its plants are idled, but it's only a matter of time until the best available vehicles are gone. The 20,000 workers at GM and several suppliers that aren't working because of the strike are likely a bit more worried, but at least the two sides are talking.

[Source: Detroit News]