Canadian Auto Show Rally/Demonstration (Sunday February 15th @ 11am Toront
Brothers and Sisters,
The worldwide financial crisis has led to a crisis in the auto industry. All of the auto companies are affected, but the Detroit three – who
employ members of the Canadian Auto Workers – are in particular danger.
The recent loan guarantees, passed by the US, Canadian and Ontario
governments are meant to provide breathing space for them to survive.
That is important to the US and Canadian economies.
But the loan guarantees also contain conditions. Some of them make
demands on the companies. These remain “secret” for now. Others attack
the rights of unionized autoworkers in both countries: they demand that
unionized workers at the Detroit Three “match” the labour costs of the
non-union transplants; they require that our union go into bargaining
with the employers and give back concessions to meet that demand; they
require that Canadian workers respond to the demands of the right-wing
US senators from the US south, and the rump of the former Harris
government of Ontario, who now occupy the power jobs in Harper’s Federal
Cabinet. The Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty has also come
on board with the conditions.
Like our union’s leadership, we realize the terrible situation we are in
today. It would be extremely difficult to refuse to engage in concession
bargaining, given the circumstances. Not only are we not mobilized
(after too many previous rounds of concessions), but public opinion in
general tends to be negative about the survival of the auto industry and
the role of autoworkers in defending the rights of all working people.
In order to survive and come out of this crisis in a stronger position,
we have to do what we can to influence the current situation. This means:
- Building support among other working people for the defence of the
wages, benefits and working conditions of unionized auto workers,
under attack from right-wing governments in the US and Canada and
the employers;
- Explaining why the survival of the Detroit three is important for
our overall economy, and to create conditions for building the
kind of auto industry that working people need in this 21^st
century. This is not the same as being the spokespersons for GM,
Ford and Chrysler. It does mean we know that their survival is
important and need to explain it to others.
- Showing that the wages, working and conditions of unionized
workers in Canada have nothing to do with the crisis facing the
employers and arguing that there is no justification to demand
that Canadian (or American workers for that matter) should somehow
“match” the non-unionized transplants. And, in the process
emphasizing that the US and Canada are the only countries in the
world that are demanding worker concessions as part of the auto
help package.
- Putting forward the need to challenge the /right/ of the US
government, the Harper Conservatives and the employers to demand
concessions from Canadian workers as a condition for the survival
of the employers;
- Supporting efforts to minimize the concessions we will be forced
to give up and calling for a plan to get the losses back in the
future.
- Building support for the union’s efforts to create “Buy Canadian”
procurement policies by governments.
- Finally, support for plans to restructure the auto industry so
that it can provide sustainable jobs and products in the future.
Like the busloads of American autoworkers who protested at the American
Auto Show in Detroit, we are organizing our own demo for the Canadian
Auto Show, in front of the Metro Convention Centre, Front Street, in
Toronto, on Sunday February 15^th , at 11:00 AM.
In solidarity,
Workers For Union Renewal
