Canadian Auto Workers Pick Chrysler as Strike Target

08/30/96

Buzz Hargrove, President of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) announced that the 210,000-member CAW had picked Chrysler as its strike target. The announcement marks the first time that CAW has picked a strike target before the UAW since the two unions parted in 1985. It is the second consecutive round of bargaining in which the CAW has selected Chrysler, however.

During bargaining for its last three-year contract (1993), CAW and Chrysler settled a master agreement without a strike at any of the companies. In 1990 the CAW struck Ford Canada for nine days. The union will officially open negotiations with Chrysler Tuesday and will close off preliminary talks with the other auto companies.

Chrysler Canada Ltd.'s vice president of human resources, Kenneth Francese released a statement after the press conference that said the company's goal was to work with the union to develop viable solutions to the labor issues. "We know we face a number of difficult issues and challenges," it said.

CAW and Chrysler negotiators agreed to extend the deadline for a strike from September 14 when the contract expires until September 17. Hargrove said "We have agreed that we are going to notify Chrysler this afternoon in a meeting that the deadline will be September 17 to either have a settlement or a strike will commence at 11:59 p.m." The move changes the strike deadline from Saturday night to Tuesday, when the auto plants are in full production.

CAW chose to bargain with Chrysler Canada to avoid picking the same target as the UAW. Hargrove said that UAW President Stephen Yokich told him that the UAW had discounted Chrysler as a strike target in an early morning telephone call: "He has eliminated Chrysler from the selection process and he's still looking at Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation."

Hargrove said he would have rather bargained with Ford, first, but worried that the choice might conflict with the UAW's choice, and rob the union of bargaining power: "I was not at all comfortable in my discussions this morning with Mr. Yokich that if I had selected Ford today that he and I might be stumbling over one another come mid-September," Hargrove said.

Members of the CAW's GM contingent were reportedly unhappy with the union's choice. In the past year GM has made outsourcing decisions that will eliminate 5,000 CAW jobs and has GM indicated its intention to resist a pattern agreement from the other automakers that imposes restrictions on outsourcing. For its part The CAW has made plain its determination to reverse GM's decisions to sell two plants in Canada and cut jobs.

GM of Canada Ltd. released a statement saying that it wanted to be the CAW's strike target. Dean Munger, GM's vice president of personnel, said, "it would have enabled us to deal directly with the issues that concern us. These talks are critical to improving GM of Canada's competitive position in the global marketplace."

52,800 CAW members work for the big three; the union has warned that a strike in Canada is likely; and CAW members recently voted to authorize a strike.

The CAW's position in regards to this round of negotiations contrasts markedly with the UAW's experience. The UAW has made no strike threats and has been content to let negotiations with all three automakers proceed simultaneously. The UAW was supposed to pick a strike target last week, but postponed the decision to pursue talks with all three carmakers, although reports that the union is leaning toward negotiating with Ford and GM have become more frequent.

The UAW has consistently declined to comment on such reports, and last week Stephen Yokich said, "We're not picking a company to strike. What we're really looking for is a company that's willing to step up and recognize what our demands are and . . . reach an agreement."

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel