During discussions with Detroit automakers this week, Canadian Auto Workers’ union president Ken Lewenza, vowed to fight concessions being urged by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
He cites the fact that all three have recovered from the recession of 2008-09, when the CAW accepted pay and benefit concessions, following bankruptcy filings by Chrysler and GM. “We need to work out a way of sharing the success that all three companies have enjoyed,” he said. “The industry has come along way since 2009,” and “the companies should be grateful, instead they are complaining and demanding more.”
The talks, which initially got underway last week and are now focused on constitutional issues and collective bargaining, aim for both sides to reach a new agreement when the current CAW contract expires on September 17.
Nonetheless, despite the tough stance from the CAW, this latest round of contract negotiations is predicted to be among the most difficult ever for the union. A number of factors are conspiring to make the bargaining process particularly hard, including the high value of the Canadian dollar, which is making manufacturing less competitive against other countries, plus the fact that the CAW’s counterpart in the U.S., the United Auto Workers’ union, agreed to concessions when it renewed its contract with the Big Three last year.
As a result, the automakers say the CAW must find a way to become more competitive or risk losing out on future investments in Canada.
Lewenza said that while previous leadership has seen the CAW grow from 85,000 to 250,000 members, it simply represents a “foundation. Every generation builds a new foundation,” he remarked. One of the potential strategies being considered by the CAW is a merger with the Communications, Energy and Paper Workers’ union. If such a merger were to go through, it would swell membership to well over 300,000, potentially giving the resulting union stronger bargaining power.
