GM Canada and the CAW Reach Tentative Agreement, Strike Ends

10/23/96

Reuters has reported that GM Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers union announced that they had agreed to a contract for the next three years, pending a rpositive ratification vote from the union's rank and file at GM plants throughout Canada. The agreement ends the 19 day old strike, clearing the way for all 26,000 striking CAW members to return to their jobs. By Tuesday the strike had caused parts shortages throughout North America. GM has responded to the shortages by laying off 18,000 US and Mexican workers.

CAW President Buzz Hargrove announced the pact at a news conference Tuesday afternoon: "we have a new 1996 collective agreement," he said. Negotiators had solved the thorny issue of outsourcing by Sunday night, raising hopes that the union and company would reach an accord by Monday at noon. When the agreement failed to materialize on Monday, however, the union announced that the new sticking point was GM's demand for a rule that would enforce mandatory over-time at its Oshawa, Ontario plant. A union official said on Tuesday that the company ended up dropping that demand, clearing the way for agreement.

GM's chief negotiator, Dean Munger characterized the agreement as a win-win accord. "Let's get it ratified, he said to the CAW negotiating team, "it's a good agreement. It suits our business needs and fits your members' needs."

The CAW's GM membership will vote on whether to accept or reject the agreement at a ratification vote on Wednesday. The agreement came after 4 days of non-stop bargaining, and addresses the union's principal concerns of outsourcing (farming work out of union shops to outside suppliers) and plant closures. The pact includes a pledge from GM to recognize limits on both.

For its part, the union conceded that GM's business plan may require it to deviate from the terms of the agreement the CAW bargained in September with Chrysler Corp. The CAW had hoped to use the Chrysler contract as a pattern agreement for all three major automakers.

Referring to the bargaining of the new agreement, Hargrove said, "we look forward to moving to the future now. I would have hoped we could have done it without a strike."

Workers will hold ratification votes at membership meetings on Wednesday morning, and Hargrove has said that workers could be back at GM plants across the country by Wednesday afternoon.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel