CAW Demands "More Time Off." How about "Forever?"

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Industry/Daily_Edition/Daily_Edition_Jul_14_2005.S173.A8909.html

CAW Outlines New Demands

The Canadian Auto Workers union is looking for more time off for its members in its next contracts with General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler Corp.

Buzz Hargrove, CAW president, rolled out the demand for additional holidays as he opened the union's collective bargaining and political action convention inToronto. All three automakers are hoping to limit or reduce the size of the benefit packages given to CAW workers, and Hargrove's new demands are certain to unsettle the negotiations, which begin next week.

All three automakers have been reducing the number of hours required to build a vehicle and the size of their workforce in recent years. However, the CAW clearly believes that some of the productivity improvements that triggered new efficiencies should be shared with workers in the form of additional holidays.

Hargrove predicted the upcoming negotiations will be difficult but that General Motors, Ford Motor Co., and DaimlerChrysler should not underestimate the union's determination. The CAW has no intention seeing its wages, benefits, or work rules gutted because the world trading system is stacked against workers, Hargrove said. The union recognizes that the auto industry faces challenges but contract concessions won't help improve the current situation, he insisted.

Hargrove also noted that vehicle imports in the NAFTA region doubled between 1996 and 2004. Much of the growth has been in the form of South Korean and Japanese exports to the U.S., he said. Meanwhile, only 30,000 NAFTA-made vehicles were exported to Japan, he added. Hargrove expects the upcoming contract talks with the old Big Three to be about contract improvements, not takeaways.

"Factors such as the rising impact of imports on the North American auto market, the rising value of the Canadian dollar and the design and marketing of new vehicles aren't within the control of the union," added Hargrove, who has led the union through five rounds of bargaining with Detroit's automakers since 1992.

Hargrove also emphasized that union is after pension improvements in this year's negotiations. The CAW bargains for pension improvements every six years and in 2005, time has come to address the pension issue, which was set aside back in 2002 when the CAW last bargained for a new contract with the Big Three. -Joseph Szczesny

It seems as if organized labor is just as "in touch with reality" as ever.:lol:

I'm agreeing with redzed. Mark this day in your calendar.

nafta *shiver*

Doesn't appear union's leadership is too willing to help the big three with all their cost burdens. Too sad....

"The UAW/CAW, where reality is a foreign concept."

redzed for President :usa:


Even I have to agree with him on the out-of-touch-with-reality thing here....

They have to stand for whats in the best interest of the worker. Its what they are paid to do. There is alot of "give and take" but the "take" is all that is highlighted.

The union is not as stupid as some may think. No rocket science going on. Then again, Who says the Big 3 makes all the right choices? Pfft! We can sit here all day and talk about some of the stupid stuff GM has done.

I do believe we may have entered an antimatter universe, where everything we believe is inverted.

I also agree.

They have to stand for whats in the best interest of the worker. Its what they are paid to do. There is alot of "give and take" but the "take" is all that is highlighted.

The union is not as stupid as some may think. No rocket science going on. Then again, Who says the Big 3 makes all the right choices? Pfft! We can sit here all day and talk about some of the stupid stuff GM has done.

No doubt about it....

But trying to say that union workers deserve more holidays because GM has streamlined production is just plain stupid.

They have to stand for whats in the best interest of the worker. Its what they are paid to do. There is alot of "give and take" but the "take" is all that is highlighted.

The union is not as stupid as some may think. No rocket science going on. Then again, Who says the Big 3 makes all the right choices? Pfft! We can sit here all day and talk about some of the stupid stuff GM has done.

I totally agree. However, in the past, unions didnt go around with their heads buried firmly in the ground, hoping that their parent company's rather serious problems didnt actually influence the workers.

Now, if the CAW is willing to trade a few plants and maybe ten thousand full time jobs for some extra vacation days, sure. Thats a give and take. But I dont see them doing that this side of a chilly day in hell.

Short of convincing the Canadian consumer making $8.00 an hour, getting 2 weeks annual vacation and paying all of their medical costs not covered by our "universal" system out of their own pocket not to buy Korean or Japanese cars, Mr. Hargrove's minions will get a good taste of reality sooner than they wish. Mr. Hargrove of course will sail off into the sunset with his generous pension package intact. :(

Mr. Hargrove of course will sail off into the sunset with his generous pension package intact. :(

When I was a teamster, I wouldve liked nothing better than to banish Hoffa Jr. to siberia or someplace...

This is just tough talk a week before negotiations. There isn't a union leader in the world who would come out one week before negotiations and say 'we're willing to make concessions'.

This is just tough talk a week before negotiations. There isn't a union leader in the world who would come out one week before negotiations and say 'we're willing to make concessions'.

From my experience in negotiations, from the management side, the average union member can't tell the difference between pre-negotiations rhetoric and "this is what we are going to get for you". So at this point, even rolling over the current agreement will come across as a "concession" to the membership and they'll be unhappy.

From my experience in negotiations, from the management side, the average union member can't tell the difference between pre-negotiations rhetoric and "this is what we are going to get for you". So at this point, even rolling over the current agreement will come across as a "concession" to the membership and they'll be unhappy.


Not true.

From my experience in negotiations, from the management side, the average union member can't tell the difference between pre-negotiations rhetoric and "this is what we are going to get for you". So at this point, even rolling over the current agreement will come across as a "concession" to the membership and they'll be unhappy.

I think you're missing the point of this rhetoric. The CAW has a far broader memebership than the UAW and the non-automotive members of the CAW have been taking a beating.

In the last few years, the CAW's "boss" has mostly been negotiating pay and benefits cuts for Air Canada employees, as well as severence packages for other non-automotive CAW members who have lost their jobs outright.

On the other hand, the CAW feels that it's dealing from a position of strength with the automotive manufacturers. They're dead wrong, of course.......

its just a negotiating tactic.weather they get more time off who knows.



the other side pulls similar crap.

Buzz Hargrove has some good points though. We are allowing offshore carmakers to sell their products here, but countries like Japan refuse to let more domestic cars into their countries. We have no access to Korea, but they sell tons here.

Still, Hargrove is going to have to forget about the time off bit. And he has to think more about helping GM out of its current mess, instead of having a confrontational attitude. GM employees are paid well, get good benefits and good vacation time. I don't think he should push it too far this time.

I think you're missing the point of this rhetoric. The CAW has a far broader memebership than the UAW and the non-automotive members of the CAW have been taking a beating.

In the last few years, the CAW's "boss" has mostly been negotiating pay and benefits cuts for Air Canada employees, as well as severence packages for other non-automotive CAW members who have lost their jobs outright.

On the other hand, the CAW feels that it's dealing from a position of strength with the automotive manufacturers. They're dead wrong, of course.......

I agree with this. The CAW doesn't come down hard enough on its trucking company membership either. If there's one market segment that gets ripped its the truck drivers. They need to get tougher on the Trucking Companies.