CAW expects to go on strike at DaimlerChrysler

[Guest Josh]

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian Auto Workers union says it expects to go on strike over job cuts at DaimlerChrysler Canada as bargaining positions harden heading into talks on a new three-year contract.

The CAW chose DaimlerChrysler Canada on Wednesday as its next target in contract negotiations with the Big Three North American automakers. It reached a deal with Ford Motor Co. on a new three-year deal earlier this week.

"Based on the current position that they have tabled with us, there is absolutely no way to avoid a strike," CAW president Buzz Hargrove said at a news conference. "If I was making a prediction today, we will be on the picket line, forced there by DaimlerChrysler management."

Hargrove has repeatedly said a strike at DaimlerChrysler Canada, where the union represents about 11,000 workers, is possible given the company's list of demands for concessions ahead of the September 20 expiration of the current contract.

The CAW said DaimlerChrysler Canada wants to outsource a large number of jobs even though the company is the only Big Three automaker that is expanding its market share.

It also said the company wants to close its casting plant in Toronto, which has 455 workers, and outsource jobs at assembly plants in Windsor, Ontario, and Brampton, Ontario, which could mean a total of 2,500 job cuts.

The CAW says DaimlerChrysler is in better financial shape than either Ford or General Motors and called its jobs demands "offensive."

"The issue is jobs, and it's not jobs because the company is losing money or because their product is not selling," Hargrove said. "It's outsourcing our jobs...so Chrysler and the shareholders can make a lot more money at the expense of the workers and their families."

The union's decision to pick DaimlerChrysler instead of General Motors as its next target came as little surprise given the union's statement last week that it would have moved to DaimlerChrysler if talks with Ford had hit a roadblock.

Union members will vote on whether to ratify the CAW's contract agreement with Ford this weekend.

Hargrove said he decided to leave General Motors on the backburner as the company has still to make many decisions on job-security and investment issues. The union also said it has not received any sign that General Motors is willing to accept the pattern set by Ford earlier this week.

With less than a week to go before the current three-year agreement expires, DaimlerChrysler said it still believes a contract can be settled.

"We have a productive relationship with the CAW and their Chrysler bargaining team and, although much hard work needs to be done, we are optimistic we can find common ground." the company said in a release.

http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_business.asp?id=95462

[Dsuupr]

Sounds good to me. At this time I believe the Union is in the right, especially with Daimlerchrysler.