83% of CAW members vote to accept cost-cutting contract from Ford

The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) voted Sunday to accept Ford's offerings, which include closing the St. Thomas, Ontario assembly plant, freezing wages and having employees shoulder more of the costs of benefits.

A stunning 83% of CAW members voted to accept Ford's offerings, in an attempt to save jobs in Oakville, Bramalea and Windsor, Ontario. The vote is in stark contrast to United Auto Workers (UAW) votes in the United States which overwhelmingly rejected a similar offer from Ford. In a press release issued Sunday afternoon, CAW president, Ken Lewenza said

"No one should mistake workers' approval as satisfaction with the new agreement. Members had faith in the union to negotiate the best agreement possible and protect their interests over the long term, but the problems faced by industry cannot be resolved at the bargaining table. We need government and policy makers to wake up to the fact that the country's industrial base is rapidly eroding and with it, the entire middle class."

In the United States, workers had different concerns. Union representatives told the Detroit Free Press those concerns included

"Growing belief in Ford's increasing success; fatigue over Ford's repeated requests for contract changes; skepticism that Ford would deliver on promises already made in recent years; and a binding arbitration clause that many saw as the elimination of their right to strike."

And Ford does seem to be slowly turning around. After a $14.6 billion loss last year, Ford just announced it had made a $1 billion profit in the third quarter of 2009. The deal reached between the CAW and Ford means that the St. Thomas assembly plant will shut down in 2011, resulting in the loss of 1,400 jobs at that plant. Ford welcomed the CAW's endorsement of its cost-cutting plan saying

"Ford continues to make progress on its transformation plan, and our efforts to be competitive when it comes to labor costs are key to continuing to build a healthy, sustainable business in Canada. It is a credit to the relationship we have with the CAW that we were able to reach a responsible agreement in such turbulent economic times. Both the union and the company realized that we had to work collaboratively to meet the competitive challenges facing the industry."

The St. Thomas plant will close in September 2011.