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Union Threatens Auto Strikes in Canada
The union representing hourly auto workers in Canada tells The Detroit News it will have “no choice” but to strike this autumn if contract talks fail to solidify commitments to keep current plants open.
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The union representing hourly auto workers in Canada tells The Detroit News it will have “no choice” but to strike this autumn if contract talks fail to solidify commitments to keep current plants open.
“We have nothing to lose,” declares Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, the union that represents some 23,000 hourly workers at General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles facilities in Canada.
Canada’s auto industry has been shrinking over the past several years as manufacturers are lured away by richer incentives and lower labor rates elsewhere. The News cites government data indicating that automaker jobs in Canada have declined more than 8% to 104,500 since 2008.
Dias notes that Mexico has opened eight assembly plants and Canada has closed two such facilities in the past eight years. He tells the News he is “absolutely convinced” there will be at least one more plant closure If Detroit’s three carmakers refuse in this year’s negotiations to invest in Canada.
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