CAW Ratifies Agreement with Chrysler
Now that Canadian workers have agreements with each of the Detroit Three, the union will turn its attention to establishing a national auto policy.
Canadian Auto Workers members ratify a new 4-year agreement with Chrysler, completing negotiations with each of the Detroit Three.
The Chrysler deal was approved by a margin of 90%. It follows pattern-bargaining agreements with Ford and General Motors, whose contracts were ratified by margins of 82% and 73%, respectively.
The tentative agreement was reached Sept. 26 and ratification votes were held over the weekend at Windsor, Brampton and Etobicoke, ON, Canada, where Chrysler has major operations. The contract calls for new hires to receive a lower wage than veteran employees but reach full compensation after 10 years of service.
The contract also provides a C$3,000 ($3,060) ratification bonus for employees and lump-sum cost-of-living payments of C$2,000 ($2,040) in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
“The new agreement rewards employees for their commitment during our ongoing recovery and narrows the gap on our future competitiveness here in Canada,” Al Iacobelli, Chrysler vice president-employee relations, says in a news release.
CAW President Ken Lewenza says the union now is turning its efforts toward developing a national auto policy in Canada to better position the country with other auto-producing nations such as Brazil and Germany.
“One of our objectives coming into these talks was to position our industry for future growth and success, and we did as much as we possibly could on that front,” Lewenza says in a statement. “But without a comprehensive sector-development strategy, the future of auto manufacturing in Canada remains uncertain, at best.”
About 8,000 of the CAW’s 21,000 members work in two Chrysler plants in Windsor and Brampton.
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