Unifor: CAW, CEP Merger Creates Largest Private-Sector Union In Canada

Unifor, the new name for the super-union created by the merger of two of Canada’s largest unions, will help stem the decline in union membership and solidify the relevance of unions in an increasingly hostile labour environment, the head of the Canadian Auto Workers said Thursday.

The Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unveiled the name and logo for the union created by their merger, which will be made official on Labour Day weekend. It will be the country's largest private-sector union.

CAW members on strike at Whitby, Ontario Lear plant

WHITBY, Ont. - Workers at Lear Whitby have gone on strike.

The 400 workers, members of the Canadian Auto Workers union, set up picket lines at midnight after contract talks collapsed late Saturday night.

The two sides remain far apart over what the union says are Lear's demands for deep concessions at a time when the company is making significant profits.

Last week the workers voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike to back their demands.

Lear Whitby manufactures seats for vehicles produced at General Motors in Oshawa and there were fears a strike could have a major impact on GM operations in the city.

The Lear strike comes on the heels of another strike at auto parts company Wescast, in Strathroy Ontario which began Saturday morning.

The Wescast strike resulted from a decision by General Motors which would see the current work performed at the facility go to China.

Original Article
Source: winnipeg free press
Author: CP

Detroit Three review CAW wage proposal as strike looms

The Canadian Auto Workers union says it's making progress with one of the three North American-based automakers on a wage proposal for new hires as a strike deadline looms with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

The CAW has threatened job action if there is no deal by midnight Monday, but the national secretary-treasurer, Peter Kennedy, says one of the companies, which he did not name, is reviewing the union proposal following talks Saturday morning in Toronto.

Canadian Auto Workers Strike? CAW's Battle With Big 3 Marks Pivotal Moment For Unions In Canada

One of the most intense rounds of auto-sector contracts talks in recent memory could become a defining moment in the struggle of Canada’s labour movement to regain its footing amid flagging membership, a decline in public support and a tougher corporate stance.

If the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) cannot reach an agreement with Ford, Chrysler and General Motors by 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, more than 20,000 hourly auto workers could walk off the job in what would be the first CAW strike at an auto plant since 1996.

Concessions from CAW come with a Canadian catch

The Canadian Auto Workers union wants new investments at the Canadian plants of the Detroit Three auto makers in return for the concessions it has put on the table.

“We think the proposal we’ve made keeps us competitive with the U.S. plants and the all-in active wage costs in the U.S. and it won’t handicap or hurt us in terms of investments in Canada,” CAW secretary-treasurer Peter Kennedy said Thursday.

CAW offers wage cuts to head off strikes

The Canadian Auto Workers union has laid out a proposal to cut wages for new employees – a move it says will meet a key demand of the Detroit auto makers as the clock ticks toward a strike deadline just four days away.

The union, which has been at an impasse in negotiations with the Canadian units of General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, has agreed to chop wages for new hires to less than the current rate of about $24 an hour, sources told the Globe and Mail.

Canadian Auto Workers Strike Could Hit All 3 Detroit Automakers At Once

TORONTO - Workers need to be ready to shut down the Canadian operations of the Big 3 Detroit automakers if a deal can't be reached at the bargaining table, the Canadian Auto Workers' union told its members Wednesday.

"It is our hope and intention to reach an agreement with at least one of the three companies before the deadline," the union said in a news release.

CAW approves formation of new union with CEP

The Canadian Auto Workers has voted unanimously to join the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers to form Canada’s biggest private-sector union with the aim of changing the country’s economic and social course.

More than 600 delegates at a CAW convention at the downtown Toronto Sheraton Centre accepted a package of proposals Wednesday for the new union that would pour millions of dollars more into organizing and open up membership to non-union workers and other Canadians.

“This union will pose a serious challenge to the unrepresentative, unfair economic and political systems workers now find themselves caught in.” said CAW president Ken Lewenza after the vote.

Merger of private-sector unions needed to combat Conservatives' attack on labour movement: CAW chief

TORONTO - A merger of two of Canada's largest private-sector unions is needed to help combat the federal Conservative government's attack on the labour movement, the head of the Canadian Auto Workers union said Monday.

"The attack on workers is heating up," Ken Lewenza told a CAW convention in referring to the proposed merger with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.

"Again collective bargaining is being strangled and unions are being targeted. The downward pressure on wages and other forms of compensation is staggering."

Will government play third wheel in CAW, Big Three talks?

National President of the Canadian Auto Workers union Ken Lewenza, centre, speaks at a press conference flanked by Assistant to the CAW President Jerry Dias, left, and National Secretary Treasurer Peter Kennedy following a meeting discussing contracts with General Motors in Toronto, Tuesday. CP/Michelle Siu

The federal government stayed up way past its bedtime when confronted with a pair of Air Canada labour disputes just before the March Break earlier this year. It was 1:30 a.m. when the Conservatives voted to force the disputes to binding arbitration and keep the planes flying.

CAW needs to be 'more flexible,' expert warns

With Canada's auto industry on the rebound, it should come as no surprise that auto workers, having had to make concessions years ago, are now asking for a share of the profits as they begin contract negotiations with the big three Detroit automakers.

But with observers predicting tough negotiations ahead, at least one analyst says that the contract that is eventually negotiated will go a long way in determining the future of the auto industry.

CAW says they want to share Detroit Three automakers’ profits

As Canada’s first auto talks in four years got underway, CAW president Ken Lewenza issued a clear warning to the auto makers – stop asking for concessions.

Canada's 24,000 auto workers deserve to share in the gains the auto makers have made since 2009 when a multi-million dollar government bailout and worker concessions helped keep a struggling industry in business, he said.

CAW, automakers open contract talks

The Canadian Auto Workers opened contract talks with the big three Detroit automakers Tuesday in what is expected to be the most difficult negotiations in years.

The companies want to cut labour costs they say are the highest in the world.

The union, which agreed to concessions when the automakers were struggling, wants a share of the payoff now that the firms are making healthy profits for the first time in a decade.

CAW: Union gaining ground at Ontario Honda plant

Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza says his labour group is drawing closer to organizing workers at a Honda assembly plant in Ontario, WardsAuto reports, while efforts to get inside two Toyota manufacturing sites are moving more slowly.

“We’re active in Honda, not so active in Toyota,” Lewenza told WardsAuto in an interview. “We’re getting some enthusiastic and strong support, but we’re not there yet.”

The New Union Project: From bureaucratic crisis to rank and file opportunity By

This long weekend I sat down to read the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) final draft proposal for a new union. I must admit when I first heard about this merger I was more than a little skeptical. I immediately thought of the rash of union mergers in Canada and the United States that have happened over the past 30 years where dying unions merge instead of actually organizing new members.

After an initial reading of the document I was surprisingly less cynical than before. Now this is not because my fears have been alleviated, rather the document opens up a space for a long overdue honest discussion in the labour movement.

Unions In Canada Get Innovative To Stay Afloat In Times Of Hostility Towards Them

TORONTO - It took a global war to galvanize Canada's workers to begin organizing themselves into unions in the 1940's.

Nearly 70 years later, experts say attacks of another sort have left those unions fighting for their very survival.

The continuing rise of multinational corporations, growing public apathy toward the labour movement and unprecedented interference from the federal government have forced leaders in the country's labour movement to consider new strategies in order to stay afloat during turbulent times.

CEP, CAW forge cutting-edge vision for new union

"It is a new union for new times, a new political and economic reality."

That's how Dave Coles described the recommended association between The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) and the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) during a press conference Wednesday morning at the Ryerson Student Centre in Toronto where the New Union Proposal Report was released.

Last summer, leaders of both unions began initial discussion around the formation of a new union. Beginning in November, they held small group meetings with the top elected leadership of both unions. By January, they'd formed a Proposal Committee.

Two unions move closer to biggest merger in Canadian labour history

The two unions contemplating the biggest merger in Canadian labour history have moved significantly closer to reaching that goal.

A special committee of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) announced Friday they have reached agreement on structure, principles and financing, and are unanimously recommending the formation of a new union to their respective boards.

“The whole process is something like climbing Mount Everest,” said committee co-chairman Peter Kennedy. “We’ve reached the first base camp. It’s a critical point.”

CAW-CEP Merger: As Membership Declines, Some Unions Decide To Fight In Unexpected Places

In a bid to reinvent themselves amid flagging influence and a less-than-friendly political atmosphere, unions are increasingly focusing their attention outside their ranks, advocating for workers who don’t have a collective bargaining agreement -- or pay membership dues.

Part outreach and part marketing, the strategy is being lauded by experts who say that to regain relevance, unions must look beyond their traditional base, which is increasingly under siege. But for unions accustomed to organizing large groups of workers under a single roof, it’s also an approach that will require considerable resources and adaptability, reflecting the fundamental nature of the transition that Big Labour is eyeing.

From CAW and CEP comes a new (old) idea to rebuild unions

Two Canadian unions are negotiating a deal that, if successful, just might reinvigorate the labour movement.

The proposed deal itself, as reported in the Star by my colleague Tony Van Alphen, involves a merger between two labour giants, the 200,000-member Canadian Auto Workers and the 130,000-strong Communications, Energy and Paperworkers.

But the most interesting element of the proposed deal would see the new union aggressively move to sign up members among groups that the modern labour movement has tended to ignore — including the unemployed and the growing number of contract workers technically considered self-employed.

Unlike traditional unionists, the new kinds of members wouldn’t necessarily bargain contracts with bosses. The unemployed have no employers.