By Doug Nesbitt In October 1996, Canadian autoworkers struck General Motors in a battle against outsourcing and other concessions. 25,000 workers walked off the job for three weeks and held back the GM attack in Oshawa, St. Catharines, Ste-Therese, and Windsor. Only a year earlier, GM had posted a record annual profit of $6.9 billion. Continue readingThe 1996 GM Oshawa occupation
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By Ritch Whyman One of the backdrops to the election in Ontario is the changes that were made this year to the Employment Standards Act through Bill 148. These changes increased minimum wage to $14/hr (with 15/hr set to come in Jan. 1, 2019) and made a large swath of changes that opened the door Continue readingAutoworkers against Wynne
By Bruce Allen About a hundred autoworkers, led by workers from Toyota, and their supporters rallied in front of Queen’s Park in Toronto on April 22. They were protesting the Liberal government’s decision to allow an “exception” for the auto industry for personal emergency leave (PEL) days. The exemption was brought into effect in January 2017. Continue readingToyota autoworkers take on Liberal’s ESA exemption
By Herman Rosenfeld A four-week strike at the CAMI assembly plant, that began on September 17th, ended on October 16th. Members of Unifor Local 88 voted 86% in favour of the tentative agreement bargained with the stand-alone GM plant. Located in Ingersoll, Ontario, close to London, it is a former joint venture between Suzuki and GM. Continue readingCAMI strike 2017: After another setback can Unifor move on?
By Gerard DiTrolio and Doug Nesbitt As negotiators from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico carry out secretive talks aimed at fixing NAFTA, a strike at an Ontario auto plant shows how difficult it can be to challenge the power amassed by corporations thanks to the trade deal. The 2,800 members of Unifor Local 88 walked Continue readingCAMI workers strike, but can’t get guarantee on jobs
by Cory Weir GM Oshawa autoworker, Unifor Local 222 As we rolled into the town of Ingersoll on Friday night a familiar sight was noticeable from the highway: an otherwise quiet night sky filled with industrial light from a burgeoning automotive facility much like the one we had just finished our shifts at in Oshawa. Continue readingCAMI strike: An Oshawa autoworker’s view
By Gerard Di Trolio and Doug Nesbitt The strike at the CAMI Automotive plant in Ingersoll, Ontario is of major importance to the labour movement. The 2,800 members of Unifor Local 88 have walked off the job in a battle for wages but crucially for job security. It’s the first GM strike in Canada since Continue readingCAMI strike can renew fight against NAFTA
By James Napier The indictments involving a Fiat Chrysler exec and a UAW official should confirm long-held suspicions that “team concept” and cooperation between union and company leads to bad contracts, and sapping the fighting spirit of the members. US federal charges have been laid against Al Iacobelli, former VP of Fiat Chrysler, and Monica Continue readingThe wages of corruption: The Fiat Chrysler UAW scandal
by Joe Allen The United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) union has staggered from one defeat to the next for many years. Three years ago, the union got a punch in the gut when it was defeated in a recognition vote at Volkswagen (VW) in Tennessee. Friday’s defeat at Nissan was Continue readingUnderstanding UAW’s defeat in Mississippi
By David Bush Should labour support the demand for a Basic Income? In response to the threat of automation, the rise of neoliberal policies and the weakening of trade unions parts of the Left have come to champion BI as a policy that can save the working class. But is this the best way to Continue readingBasic Income or a reduced work week? An old labour debate
In December 2011 Bristol Radical History Group were invited to participate in a ‘history’ meeting in Detroit, USA. This gathering included ex-members (such as the late General Baker) of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, the radical black working class organization. Also present was Marvin Surkin, one of the authors of Detroit: I Do Mind Continue readingWeekend Video: League of Revolutionary Black Workers
By Ritch Whyman The narrow 55 percent acceptance of the new contract by Ford Canada employees, brought to end the third round of bargaining by the union representing autoworkers (UNIFOR) and GM, Chrysler and Ford. Despite the automakers making massive profits the pattern set by the union leadership, while containing small gains and bonuses, included many concessions Continue readingAutoworkers: Concessions and resistance