Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) shop floor heads at General Motors factories in Canada have “endorsed” a new four-year collective agreement by a margin of 99%, the Toronto-based autoworkers’ union announced last night (25 September).
The tentative deal with GM, largely following the ‘pattern’ agreement reached first with Ford last week, and ratified by CAW members at the weekend, rejects permanent two-tier wages, provides cost of living lump sum payments, new investment and provisions for greater job security.
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“Our elected workplace representatives at General Motors confirmed today they are in support of this agreement which maintains the overall pattern which was first established at Ford,” said CAW president Ken Lewenza in a statement.
“Our members in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock, Ontario must now vote on the agreement.”
The CAW-GM leadership meeting yesterday at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre Hotel was attended by 150 chairpersons, stewards and other elected shop floor representatives. The deal had been earlier endorsed by the union’s GM master bargaining committee.
The union will hold a series of ratification meetings today (26 September) and Thursday, September where GM CAW members will vote on ratifying the tentative agreement.
Results are expected on Thursday evening.
