Chrysler Assembly plant in Brampton is one of the many locations that could see picket lines if no tentitive deal is made. PHOTO BY MEAGAN MALLOCH
By Meagan Malloch
After a tentative four-year contract was reached between the Canadian Auto Workers and Ford Motor Company Monday, the CAW has decided to extend talks with Chrysler and General Motors.
Extending talks with the two companies will mean holding off a strike that could see more than 16,000 autoworkers walk out.
The deal reached by the CAW and Ford came just hours before the 11:59 p.m. ET Monday deadline and promised to create 600 new jobs for workers that have been laid-off over the past few years.
Christine Parise, the Labor Council Delegate at Local 584, told Humber News she is very excited with the result of the agreement and is ecstatic that there seems to be a product that came out of the negotiations.
‘Bringing back jobs is huge’
“We want a product in Canada, which is basically a new edge,” said Parise. “It is a way to keep jobs in Canada, and the fact that they are bringing back 600 jobs is huge.”
CAW representatives were hoping that the deal with Ford would serve as a template for GM and Chrysler to make a similar, or the same, deal.
Ken Lewenza, CAW president, told the Windsor Star in a report Monday night that the union only has so much patience and time to make a deal with GM and Chrysler.
“If it’s good enough for Ford, its good enough for GM and Chrysler,” said Lewenza. “It’s a damn good deal in this economic times, it’s a damn good deal.”
Parry Janes, an employee with the Chrysler Assembly plant in Brampton, doesn’t see a reason why the two remaining companies shouldn’t take the deal.
“I think the companies are in it for themselves and don’t care about the employees,” said Janes. “I definitely think there is no reason the companies shouldn’t agree with the terms, we gave up a lot in the past.”