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CAW Local 1285 Members Vote In Favour Of New DaimlerChrysler Agreement
BRAMPTON, ON, March 11 /CNW/ - CAW Local 1285 members who work at
DaimlerChrysler's Brampton, Ontario car assembly plant voted overwhelmingly to
an agreement today that helps secure new work at the facility.
More than 2,800 members attended a packed meeting today: CAW production
members voted 78 per cent in favour and skilled trades members voted 95 per
cent in favour of the agreement that will come into force when new products
come into the plant, which currently produces the Chrysler 300, the Dodge
Magnum and Dodge Charger.
Bob Chernecki, assistant to the CAW President, spoke to the membership
about the tough environment facing domestic automakers and the challenging
times that have created so much insecurity in auto producing communities.
"Our members work hard to produce high quality vehicles and they made a
difficult decision today that will help provide a more secure future for
themselves, their families and their community," Chernecki said.
Ardis Snow, Local 1285 unit chairperson at DaimlerChrysler, said, "It was
a very hard decision for the membership to make, but they looked at the long
term future for themselves and their families."
"As the new plant chairperson I have a lot of work ahead of me to unite
the membership and the leadership," Snow said.
Ken Lewenza, chairperson of the CAW's DaimlerChrysler master bargaining
committee, said, "There is obviously a lot of uncertainty in the auto industry
and our members continue to express frustration and concern about the future."



So what they voted for was a reduction in pay. There are indications that most employees will lose $125 a week in pay with the reductions.

Aint the union great.

If the choice is get dinged $125 per week in the wallet or end up on EI, I'd say most workers with families would take the hit :unsure:

Hell, with the introduction of co-payments to our health plan we're taking a pay hit too (and hearing rumours of even more blooshed to come) and we're in OPSEU <_<

NefCanuck

Sometimes you gotta go with the market trends, and not the union's wants. A tough realization, and it's good to see they're taking steps to secure their jobs, not just a pay scale.

Unfortunate that it's come to this tho... but given time, hopefully they'll turn it around.

Bryan,

What you are missing is that:

(1) all production workers were getting paid 1/2 hour a day for start-up and clean-up (getting dressed and undressed). While I can see that to some extent for paint workers, to draw a comparison for example, trades guys at our plant get 6 minutes clean up (Technically, cleanup for us means that you have 6 minutes to clean and put away your tools at the end of your shift). Not sure what you paint guys get but I'm pretty sure it's not 1/2 hour. That's what got cut.

And:

(2) Chernecki's a goof.

I'll admit up front that I haven't done my normal research into this ... but at face value it seems to me that this kind of action by the rank and file epitomizes what a union IMO should be all about ... everyone collectively looking out for each other's current and future well-being even if it means taking a hit personally.

As a non-union guy, from where I stand these CAW members deserve respect and I'll be looking for the company to come through on their end. If they don't the market and the media will crucify them considering what the union members have done.

ZTWsquared,Mar 13 2007, 04:17 PM Wrote:As a non-union guy, from where I stand these CAW members deserve respect and I'll be looking for the company to come through on their end. If they don't the market and the media will crucify them considering what the union members have done.
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I wish that were the case, but reality is that the public memory is short and convenient.

The rich get richer and the poorer get poorer. The middle class no longer exists. :(

OAC_Sparky,Mar 13 2007, 04:03 PM Wrote:Bryan,

What you are missing is that:

(1) all production workers were getting paid 1/2 hour a day for start-up and clean-up (getting dressed and undressed). While I can see that to some extent for paint workers, to draw a comparison for example, trades guys at our plant get 6 minutes clean up (Technically, cleanup for us means that you have 6 minutes to clean and put away your tools at the end of your shift). Not sure what you paint guys get but I'm pretty sure it's not 1/2 hour. That's what got cut.

And:

(2) Chernecki's a goof.
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We in paint get 18 minutes dress up Mon. Wed and Friday and 12 minutes Tues and Thurs. But we typically don't get the dress up because we work hard and get out of work early because our shift (midnights) in particular is just a fill up the system to trim and go home shift.

My understanding was they were giving up the midnight shift premium and afternoon shift premium. Not a great loss.

I just can't stand the way the company put it to the employees after that plant worked their ass off for years giving great product. Either except the offer or we move the plant. Period. That's not negotiating, that's intimidation.

And unfortunately that is the reality of the auto industry now and what we have been thru already at Ford. Maybe more to come???

Kinda renders the union as being useless nowadays IMO.

And Ken, what have the union members done to deserve crucification? The contract and agreements in place were fought for and increased not only the standard of living for those autoworkers, but for many workers outside our industry. I can guarantee that even you have benefited from the wage gains we have received in the past. They aren't exorbidant, just the typical 2-3%. I know when my Dad was at Ford(management) he hated the union(still does) but loved the yearly increase to his pay he received along with the union members

meford4u,Mar 13 2007, 07:01 PM Wrote:And Ken, what have the union members done to deserve crucification?[right][snapback]230359[/snapback][/right]

Nothing. (I think you misread Ken's post). I took it that he meant management would get crucified if they reneged on their half of the deal after the concessions the Union just gave.

I just gained newfound respect for the Ford unionized workers. That's the first time in a while (convenient memory, perhaps?) that I've heard the union take a cut and be happy about it.

The market is in a definite downswing with no letup in sight as the lemmings... ahem, consumers are completely bamboozled on what to buy. Depending on your visit to ANY dealer these days, you could be swung towards a pickup Monday, a coupe Tuesday and a hatch Wednesday. Don't forget the hybrids.

meford4u,Mar 13 2007, 08:01 PM Wrote:I just can't stand the way the company put it to the employees after that plant worked their ass off for years giving great product.  Either except the offer or we move the plant.  Period.  That's not negotiating, that's intimidation.

And unfortunately that is the reality of the auto industry now and what we have been thru already at Ford.  Maybe more to come???

Kinda renders the union as being useless nowadays IMO.

And Ken, what have the union members done to deserve crucification?  The contract and agreements in place were fought for and increased not only the standard of living for those autoworkers, but for many workers outside our industry.  I can guarantee that even you have benefited from the wage gains we have received in the past.  They aren't exorbidant, just the typical 2-3%.  I know when my Dad was at Ford(management) he hated the union(still does) but loved the yearly increase to his pay he received along with the union members
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The fabrication isn't the problem. Its the design and engineering. There's nothing wrong with the assemblyline as it stands.

What Chrysler is doing isn't negotiating or intimidation, its providing an ultimatum. But if I flip sides here, what if the union proposed a contract and said "if you don't like it, we strike"? I see this line happen more often than the company saying they'll go elsewhere.

Don't get me started about Teacher's Unions and OPSEU, their standards of conduct I find are deplorable. When they say that "We're doing this to protect your children or your health care," I don't believe that BS for one second.

However going back to normal unions, they have had a great impact in the past for bringing up standards of employment and still do today. Where I would really like to see unions involved in are areas where employees are still being abused/mistreated.

OAC_Sparky or Meford, do you know if Toyota or Honda have any agree with CAW union? I do believe they have factories in Ontario.

Well the CAW has really run wit it over the years and made canadian auto manufactureing not as profitable as it used to be,,,

I grew up in a union home my dad worked for ford for 32 yrs soI'm not an outsider looking in... we lived well from ford and that's why I drive one... but at the end of the day the CAW pushed the envelope a little too far and now ther pulling it back to save there members... good on them for looking into the futer

Here's a story I bring up from time to time that illustrates what would have happened if CAW didn't give in to demands..

In Thunder Bay, the Safeway grocer store franchise was paying out the ass for labour. Stock boys would start at $12/hour, cashiers making upward of $16-$18/hr.

They asked the employees to take a $1/hr paycut, because they could no longer compete with the non-unionized stores in the city.

The union voted it down and began ther 6 month strike.

Safeway tried to negotiate.. explaining that the stores couldn't stay in business, that they would have to close down if the employees didn't take the pay cut.

So they put it to another vote.

The union voted it down.

Safeway announced that they were going to close the stores and put everyone out of work because the business wasn't competitive anymore.

The union went to city council which went to safeways and asked for one last vote.

Now, keep in mind that the terms didn't change. If safeways couldn't cut salaries, they could not do business in Thunder Bay. what did the union do?

They voted it down.

So the Safeways chain pulled out of Thunder Bay and didn't return for over 2 years. (was it 4 or 5, I can't recall).

And yet, the union continued striking outside the closed safeway store about how Safeway threw their jobs out.

That's a union truly gone wrong. It's one thing when they protect their employees, but there are two great examples of how unions ran the business into the ground.. Safeway in Thunder Bay being one, and the second being OPSEU and the MTO (they striked for 3 months for job security and ended up having 20% of the staff laid off 2 months after the contract was signed).

How quickly some of those people forget that the company they work/worked for DIDN'T HAVE TO give them a job in the firstplace.

There are disadvantages to being part of the dream-team (Banks, Insurance Company's and the DND/Fed Gov't) as well. We can't just up and leave the job whenever we want, you have to fill out tons of paperwork, go to meetings, and all sorts of stuff, which can take 6 months or more to settle. You also loose your pension contributions, and other fees that got paid into from your pay. Also, if you refuse to do something, or go somewhere, you won't lose your job, but you'll be what we call a "CFL" or "Corpral-for-life". If you refuse to go on tour, or happen to get hurt or sick before EVERY major exercise, that's career suicide. They will give you some crummy job somewhere, and that's where you'll stay until your contract ends, or if you breach it early. Now, if you can leave the DND without a dishonourable discharge, you can always come back after 12 months as a civilian (which some people have done when they see how crummy it is out there for the blue-collar workforce).

Back on topic though, I think that it's cool that some people are starting to realize that they have to change, and by doing so, will help the company change too. They are looking out for both themselves and the company, in terms of the longterm, and not the here and now.

I respect the people that work in the Auto Industry. You people make the economy keep running...so thanks...

L8tz

I wish we could have the economic equivalent of "It's a Wonderful Life" to see what the life and standard of living of the average person would be if there were no Unions.

If you want a glimpse, look at China.

And if you think that "well they're outdated" and you think that companies would continue to pay fairly out of the kindness of their heart, I've got land to sell.

OAC_Sparky,Mar 14 2007, 01:29 PM Wrote:I wish we could have the economic equivalent of "It's a Wonderful Life" to see what the life and standard of living of the average person would be if there were no Unions.

If you want a glimpse, look at China.

And if you think that "well they're outdated" and you think that companies would continue to pay fairly out of the kindness of their heart, I've got land to sell.

haha.. I do agree actually... but there's a lot of government bodies that regulate this sort of thing nowadays anyways. You're basically saying that the Chinese have a democratic process and they don't.

There's a lot of other factors involved in that as well, considering American foreign policy and the structure of a world economy where we stand near the top of the pyramid, and they are at the bottom.

Unions did do a lot to improve the life of the worker when industry wasn't so regulated, but these days I wonder at it's usefullness.

I'm personally happy that I waive the right to my priveleged 3% payraise so that I may dictate my own payraise through my own actions. I would be no where near as successful in my job if I was bound to the union hierarchy.

And I've seen so many examples of unions running companies into the ground. If a company can't afford to do business, it doesn't do any union employees good to get their negotiated pay raises.

This is just my experience having been on both sides of the fence (tho limited compared to others)... I personally prefer rewards based on performance and competitive business, but probably because that's where I've experienced the most personal success.

ZED_not_zee,Mar 14 2007, 12:44 AM Wrote:Well the CAW has really run wit it over the years and made canadian auto manufactureing not as profitable as it used to be,,,

I grew up in a union home my dad worked for ford for 32 yrs soI'm not an outsider looking in... we lived well from ford and that's why I drive one... but at the end of the day the CAW pushed the envelope a little too far and now ther pulling it back to save there members... good on them for looking into the futer
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This was the second time this same contract was brought before the membership at Chrysler in 3 months. The first time they voted no.

At this vote, Chernecki was telling them to vote no again.

Keep in mind Chernecki works for the CAW.

Change anyones mind now?

2 things piss me off. The union for not seeing the change for what needs to be and Chernecki for pushing a second vote. I don't know this for sure, but realize that Buzz was not at the meeting because he was "stranded" in the Carribean. Ya right. He didn't attend because he didn't want the vote again. Why vote on the same contract twice.

my take on it is this. Maybe if the Bramalea plant didn't build such crappy cars, it wouldn't be a problem...(the SRT-8 charger would be the lone exception)

FocusGuy7476,Mar 13 2007, 11:52 PM Wrote:OAC_Sparky or Meford, do you know if Toyota or Honda have any agree with CAW union? I do believe they have factories in Ontario.
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If anyone responded to this post I didn't see it.

Toyota and Honda do not have union workers, and as of today I've never heard of any line worker retiring from Yot or Ho in Canada with a company pension.