CAW’s Auto Parts Campaign Paying Off

In late October, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Union made a bold statement that it would unequivocally reject concessionary contract proposals from auto parts manufacturers. It drew a line in the sand with noon-hour demonstrations at over 100 employers in the province of Ontario. (See ICEM report here.)

Well, that line is fast proving to be a brick wall in which the no retreat mantra is being used against companies that seek worker givebacks in collective agreements. In the days and weeks after the 27 October manifestations, CAW local branches at two auto-parts suppliers have not only brought the national union’s militancy into practice, but managed to carve out meaningful job security gains in renewal agreements.

At Magna’s Integram Seating plant in Tecumseh, Ontario, CAW Local 444 and its 725 members used a strike deadline to beat back threats to a collective agreement. A strike would have shut auto-assembly production at a nearby Chrysler minivan factory in Windsor, and that was something Integram managers needed to avoid.

The result was a two-year collective agreement that even though freezes wages, does grant two lump-sum bonus payments for workers. It also includes a cost-of-living adjustment in the final quarter of the second year, with a commitment to include cost-of-living increases in the subsequent labour agreement. What’s more, improvements were made in post-retirement benefits, including age reduction from 60 to 55 for workers with 30 years service to qualify for full pension benefits.

Ironically, the threat of an Integram strike and shutdown at Chrysler actually protected Local 444’s future right to strike. Magna sought to tie the plant into the Framework of Fairness Agreement, a joint CAW-Magna 2007 arrangement that prohibits strikes at new company facilities in exchange for fair play regarding organizing efforts. Local 444 rejected imposition of that framework in this labour agreement.

The other CAW success story occurred at thriving and ever-expanding Martinrea International, a Canadian-based metal-stamping chassis and frame supplier that also sells other auto parts to Chrysler, Ford, GM, and Volkswagen. At two Ontario plants of the company, Ridgetown and Dresden, CAW Local 127 since September had faced deep contractual reductions, including pay cuts from C$21-per-hour to C$14, elimination of the pension plan, cuts to health benefits, and to paid time off.

The 375 union members at the two plants rejected the company’s backward proposals at a 30 October union meeting, and sent a strong message that Martinrea did not need relief and that Local 127 would set an example for the CAW’s Auto Parts Workers’ United campaign.

The result was Martinrea completely backed off the concessions and the union won first-ever job security language. Even though the three-year agreements at the two plants contain no wage increases, Local 127 won guarantees that neither plant would face shutdowns or reductions-in-force, and also guarantees that future engineered products will not be outsourced but done in the CAW-represented plants.

The new labour agreements at Martinrea stand as testament that CAW workers will have a voice in production decisions.

The CAW’s auto-parts campaign – one of unyielding rank-and-file belief that contractual retreat does not guarantee job security – is taking hold in Canada and serves as an excellent example of grass-roots activism meant to resist social cuts and preserve living and work standards. Congratulations, CAW!