GM concedes as auto parts union threatens to shut down plants

After a two-day sit-down strike at Collins and Aikman, the Canadian Auto Workers union won a huge victory on April 2. The bankrupt auto-parts company withdrew its earlier plan to close the plant prematurely and withhold severance payments. The sit-down ended after the union won a commitment from DaimlerChrysler to cover its share of severance pay owed to workers who are soon to be laid off.

The union then insisted that Ford and General Motors, which Collins and Aikman also supplies, make a similar commitment. Ford agreed. GM hesitated, and CAW Local 303 threatened to shut down GM plants in Oshawa and Ingersoll, Ont. Not wanting a strike and certainly not a sitdown in their own plants, and realizing that Local 303 meant business, GM agreed to match the contribution of Ford and DaimlerChrysler.

The planned shutdown of GM was called off. “I would say we’re a little more relaxed now and a little more settled. We know the money is in a trust account with CAW,” said Mustaq Mohammed, chairperson of Local 303. “It’s a victory overall. Even though it’s the minimum severance under the law, it’s a victory for us.”