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Make the Skilled Trades Association Your Home Page Our Mission Statement Our mandate is to help strengthen our union by supporting our leadership and creating a Skilled Trades Association dedicated to the full employment and well being of all trades in our plants and across Ontario. We are also committed to supporting our friends in production and being responsible community members helping out where we can.
Archives July 2008 July 24, 2008 - The Canadian Auto Workers union says it is close to reaching a "unique" resolution with General Motors in a bitter dispute over the pending shutdown of the company's Oshawa truck plant. In "Trades News Articles"
July 23, 2008 - Ford has delayed the addition of a third shift and hundreds of jobs at its Oakville assembly plant indefinitely because of an abrupt downturn in sales of crossover vehicles. In "Trades News Articles"
July 21, 2008 - Employment in Canada's auto industry has sunk to its lowest level in 14 years. In "Trades News Articles"
July 16, 2008 - GM has delayed a $700-million project that would see it make more fuel-efficient transmissions at its St. Catharines plant as the automaker scrambles to adjust its production and planning in an era of $4-a-U.S. gallon gasoline. In "Trades News Articles"
July 15, 2008 - General Motors Corp. plans to reduce its salaried workforce by thousands of people, cut truck production even further, suspend its dividend and borrow $2 billion to $3 billion more to weather a severe downturn in the U.S. market. In "Trades News Articles"
July 14, 2008 - General Motors Corp. plans to announce a wide-ranging cost-cutting plan Tuesday, following a Monday meeting of its board of directors, sources familiar with the plan said. In "Trades News Articles"
July 12, 2008 - Booming sales of General Motors' compact cars have raised demand for the company's Windsor-built transmissions. But that won't be enough to save the Windsor Transmission plant, a GM spokesman warned Friday. In "Trades News Articles"
July 2, 2008 - Tuesday, Toyota reported 11.5% drop in June U.S. sales on a daily selling rate basis, hurt primarily by a sharp decline in truck and SUV sales as customers continued the shift to small and fuel-efficient vehicles amidst spiralling oil prices. In "Trades News Articles"
June 2008 June 27, 2008 - Canadian autoworkers acknowledged that General Motors Corp's decision to close a Oshawa, Ontario, truck plant next year was irrevocable, a union leader said on Thursday after a meeting with company officials. In "Trades News Articles"
June 25, 2008 - General Motors of Canada Ltd. may soon reveal more new models for its flexible manufacturing plant in Oshawa, but union leaders say it won't take the focus off the fight to keep a nearby truck operation open. In "Trades News Articles"
June 24, 2008 - The General Motors truck plant in Oshawa is among seven GM manufacturing plants being closed temporarily for weeks at a time, beginning next month until the end of 2008. In "Trades News Articles"
June 21, 2008 - General Motors has changed its mind and will build hybrid pickup trucks in Oshawa, Ont., after all. In "Trades News Articles"
June 20, 2008 - With its stock market value tumbling, General Motors Corp. is temporarily freezing its future large truck development efforts and preparing to hire lower-paid workers. In "Trades News Articles"
June 19, 2008 - General Motors’ engine plant in St. Catharines has been named by a prestigious productivity survey as being the No. 1 auto-parts manufacturer in its category in North America. In "Trades News Articles"
June 18, 2008 - Disliking unions has become something of a national pastime in certain areas, notably the political right and big business, and certainly over the years unions have given their opponents plenty of ammunition. In "Trades News Articles"
June 17, 2008 - General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers hold high-level talks here today, trying to defuse the tense standoff over the future of the company's Oshawa truck plant. In "Trades News Articles"
June 16, 2008 - CAW local 222 president leading the fight to stop General Motors from closing an Ontario truck plant says the battle is "far from over." In "Trades News Articles"
June 14, 2008 - An Ontario Superior Court judge has chastised General Motors Corp. for announcing the shutdown of a truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., two weeks after signing a new contract with the Canadian Auto Workers that contained commitments that the plant would be kept open. In "Trades News Articles"
June 13, 2008 - Reports of this town's death may have been greatly exaggerated. Same goes for those bracing for a giant war between the Canadian Auto Workers and General Motors. In "Trades News Articles"
June 12, 2008 - General Motors says police have refused to intervene in a high profile illegal union blockade at its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa that will cripple the automaker's business and reputation if it continues. In "Trades News Articles"
June 11, 2008 - GM is asking an Ontario court to end a blockade at its Canadian headquarters and is seeking $1.5 million in compensation from the Canadian Auto Workers for damages that occurred at its assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont. In "Trades News Articles"
June 10, 2008 - GM of Canada said yesterday that it will act to end the blockade of its Oshawa, Ont., head office by employees angered over its announcement last week that it will cease production next year of pickup trucks at an assembly plant in that city. In "Trades News Articles"
June 6, 2008 - General Motors Corp. is sticking to its decision to close an Ontario pickup-truck plant in two years, Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove said after a meeting today with the largest U.S. automaker. In "Trades News Articles"
June 5, 2008 - The federal government offered to help Ontario's ailing auto sector yesterday by inviting General Motors of Canada Ltd. to tap into a $250-million fund to help the company build a third model at its car plant in Oshawa. In "Trades News Articles"
Auto workers are to block the entrance of the General Motors of Canada's headquarters in Oshawa again today to protest a plan to close a nearby truck plant next year. In "Trades News Articles"
June 3, 2008 - A decision by General Motors to shut its Oshawa truck plant in 2009 will affect operations at the automaker's St. Catharines engine plant says a top Canadian Auto Workers official. In "Trades News Articles"
In a move its Canadian union calls "illegal" and a betrayal, General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) is shutting four North American truck plants, including one in Oshawa, Ont., that employs 2,600 people. In "Trades News Articles"
May 2008 May 27, 2008 - Ontario has had more than its share of bad economic news lately. With an overvalued Canadian dollar, a recession in the U.S., and a flood of one-way imports from offshore producers, our manufacturing industry is in crisis. In "Trades News Articles"
May 22, 2008 - UAW members that build the Malibu and Aura at General Motors Corp.'s Fairfax assembly plant have approved a new contract, ending a nearly three-week-old strike. In "Trades News Articles"
May 21, 2008 - General Motors Corp.'s string of labour problems could soon come to an end with a tentative agreement reached Tuesday at a key assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan. that manufactures the Malibu and Aura. In "Trades News Articles"
May 19, 2008 - Striking workers at American Axle wiill face deep concessions in the UAW's tentative agreement with the company. But details of the deal show that the union fought to stem the depth of those cuts and soften the impact on workers. In "Trades News Articles"
May 18, 2008 - Canadian Auto Workers at four General Motors plants have ratified a new labour deal that mirrors agreements with other major auto makers. In "Trades News Articles"
Canadian Auto Workers with Chrysler LLC yesterday followed their colleagues at GM and Ford and ratified a tentative three-year contract that freezes wages, suspends cost of living allowances and reduces vacation pay. In "Trades News Articles"
May 17, 2008 - St. Catharines autoworkers have accepted a new contract designed to protect their jobs in an increasingly battered industry. In "Trades News Articles"
The UAW and American Axle have reached a tentative agreement on a new labour contract, said people familiar with the the negotiations and a company spokeswoman.
Workers at a General Motors plant near Lansing, Michigan ratified a new local contract on Friday, ending a month-long strike that shut down production of popular GM crossover vehicles. In "Trades News Articles"
May 16, 2008 - General Motors of Canada has reaffirmed its commitment to bringing a new transmission line to St. Catharines as part of a tentative contract agreement struck early Thursday morning with the Canadian Auto Workers. In "Trades News Articles"
Workers at Chrysler's Windsor Assembly Plant who had learned Thursday their union and employer had reached a tentative agreement, said they were happy to reach a deal that secures their jobs, given the economic slowdown. In "Trades News Articles"
May 15, 2008 - GM is committed to produce a 6-speed transmission at its St. Catharines, Ontario, engine plant, the union said. It also agreed to produce its next-generation V8 engines at St. Catharines and Oshawa. In "Trades News Articles"
The UAW and GM have reached a tentative agreement that could end a four-week strike at the Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant where they make the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook crossover vehicles. In "Trades News Articles"
The Canadian Auto Workers union said it was still bargaining with Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. Wednesday evening on new labour contracts, pushing past a self-imposed deadline of 6 p.m. to strike a deal. In "Trades News Articles"
May 14, 2008 - Can anyone really believe that Ontario would have maintained its relative strength in the North American auto sector had the province not been able to secure that extra $7 billion in new investment? In "Trades News Articles"
May 13, 2008 - Even free land and government money weren't enough to convince General Motors Canada Ltd. to keep building transmissions in Windsor. In "Trades News Articles"
May 12, 2008 - General Motors says it does not have any new product to bring to its Windsor Transmission plant so it will close the plant in 2010, putting 1,400 employees out of work. It's a sad day in Windsor. In "Trades News Articles"
The Canadian Auto Workers was said to be mulling over the first economic offer made by General Motors of Canada Ltd. Sunday, on the eve of starting contract negotiations with Chrysler Canada. In "Trades News Articles"
May 11, 2008 - When lawmakers were busy sketching out the details of the North American Free Trade agreement in 1988, Buzz Hargrove, then assistant to Canadian Auto Workers president Bob White, said the union would "fight like hell" against lower U.S. wages and benefits that could creep into Canada. In "Trades News Articles"
May 9, 2008 - General Motors Corp has agreed to pay up to $200 million to help end the 10-week strike at parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. by funding employee buyouts, early retirements and wage buy downs, according to a regulatory filing submitted today by the automaker. In "Trades News Articles"
May 6, 2008 - Negotiating committees from the CAW and General Motors will meet in Toronto Thursday to try and reach an early collective agreement that mirrors the recently-ratified agreement with Ford Motor Company and provides new product allocations for the company's Canadian operations. In "Trades News Articles"
Our local attended the Day of Mourning in St. Catharines recently. Approximately 786 Canadians die as a result of work-related incidents each year. That's an average of two deaths per day. There were 378 deaths in Ontario in 2007. Don't be another statistic.
May 5, 2008 - The United Auto Workers launched a strike Monday at a key General Motors Corp. assembly plant, halting production of the Chevrolet Malibu. In "Trades News Articles"
The Canadian Auto Workers will ask General Motors and Chrysler today and tomorrow to match a historic early contract, including a wage freeze, that union members at Ford Motor Co. of Canada have ratified. In "Trades News Articles"
May 4, 2008 - The handout that is being given out today at the CAW contract ratification votes at Ford can be found at the link found in "Trades News Articles" (4 MB file)
May 1, 2008 - Ford Canada and the CAW reached a tentative agreement on a new national labour agreement Thursday afternoon, as expected. In "Trades News Articles"
April 2008 April 29, 2008 - Just when it seemed like the worst of General Motors’ cuts to its Oshawa plants was over, St. Catharines workers who have transferred there have been hit with more bad news. In "Trades News Articles"
General Motors is cutting a second shift and more than 900 jobs at its once-mighty Oshawa truck assembly plant this fall in another body blow to Ontario's manufacturing sector. In "Trades News Articles"
April 28, 2008 - Ford Canada and the CAW have reached an agreement on a Master Economics Offer that will now become the centerpiece of all-out collective bargaining aimed at reaching a tentative agreement between the two sides later this week. In "Trades News Articles"
April 26, 2008 - GM and the UAW have managed to avoid strikes at a plant in Wyoming, Mich., near Grand Rapids, and at a Malibu plant in Kansas City, Kan. In "Trades News Articles"
April 25, 2008 - General Motors Corp. faces strike deadlines Friday from United Auto Workers locals at two factories, including one in Kansas City that makes the strong-selling Chevrolet Malibu sedan. In "Trades News Articles"
April 21, 2008 - As the strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. lingers into its eighth week, workers on the picket line and even the president of the United Auto Workers say the longer they're out, the better the settlement they will expect. In "Trades News Articles"
April 19, 2008 - General Motors Corp. avoided a strike at a Warren powertrain plant on Friday, but the UAW threatened to send workers to the picket lines at two other factories, including the one that makes the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu. In "Trades News Articles"
April 18, 2008 - Taking out the plant that builds General Motors Corp.'s hot-selling crossover vehicles was one thing, but now the UAW is set to cause the automaker even more pain by striking at the factory that makes most of its transmissions. In "Trades News Articles"
April 15, 2008 - The pictures from the April 2008 retirement dinner are online. Thanks go to Ed Gould for sending them our way. In "Picture Archive"
Chrysler and Nissan will link to supply each other with products. Nissan will make a small car in Japan for Chrysler and Chrysler will sell to Nissan a version of its Mexican-built Dodge Ram to replace Nissan's Titan. In "Trades News Articles"
April 13, 2008 - By walking the picket line outside of American Axle & Manufacturing's plants in Detroit three days a week, Steve Conner says he hopes not only to preserve his wage to support his wife and nine children, but also so workers at General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC don't face the same fight in a few years. In "Trades News Articles"
April 12, 2008 - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. was "disappointed" in an offer from the United Auto Workers union that would have paid workers double the market rate, the company said Thursday. In "Trades News Articles"
March 2008 Mar 31, 2008 - Ford of Canada will use a $17-million investment from the Ontario government as part of a $168-million plan to reopen the Essex engine plant in southwestern Ontario, but the company warned Monday it will not expand the project further without direct participation from the federal government. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 28, 2008 - General Motors Corp., with light-truck output slowed by a strike at a supplier, may shut its first car assembly plant by April 4, a union chief said. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 26, 2008 - The Detroit Three auto makers want to slice their Canadian wage and benefit costs from $77 (U.S.) an hour closer to the $49 faced by their Japan-based rivals in the U.S., the Canadian Auto Workers union says. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 25, 2008 - But one of the most important steps on China's long march to an auto export industry was the little-noticed arrival of the humble engine inside the 2005 Chevy Equinox. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 22, 2008 - Detroit automakers in the U.S. are turning to their pension funds to pay for incentives to persuade people to retire. Some workers, however, are balking at the arrangements. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 18, 2008 - Support has been pouring in for striking workers at American Axle & Manufacturing from other unions and businesses that want to back a strike they say has come to represent a fight for working-class wages beyond the Detroit axle supplier and even beyond the auto industry. In "Trades News Articles"
The battle over a possible union at Toyota's assembly plant in Cambridge is escalating with allegations that the company is intimidating workers before a vote this week. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 17, 2008 - The United Auto Workers is demanding job guarantees from American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. to end a 3-week-old strike. In "Trades News Articles"
Some of General Motors Corp.'s local unions are pushing back against the automaker's plan to implement lower-wage jobs at its factories, a key part of GM's new labor deal with the United Auto Workers union. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 13, 2008 - The next few days will determine if we get new investment from Ford,'' CAW President Buzz Hargrove said today in a speech in Windsor. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 12, 2008 - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said late Tuesday that it would consider further shrinking its U.S. operations if the United Auto Workers doesn't agree to lower wages and benefits. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 7, 2008 - As negotiations between American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and the United Auto Workers union spill into the weekend, it's increasingly likely General Motors Corp. will need to step in to end the 11-day long strike, industry watchers say. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 4, 2008 - Two more General Motors Corp. plants are slated to shut down as a result of the strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. In "Trades News Articles"
General Motors of Canada Ltd.'s Oshawa car plant is increasing production of a model that the automaker plans to eventually phase out there. In "Trades News Articles"
Mar 1, 2008 - When Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove makes new pronouncements, they carry weight both within and beyond the labour movement — even when, as has recently been the case, they seem to undermine what Canadian unions have always stood for. In "Trades News Articles"
February 2008 Feb 29, 2008 - General Motors is shutting production at its Fort Wayne, Flint and Oshawa truck assembly plants around midnight because of parts shortages caused by the UAW strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 28, 2008 - The new federal fund will help General Motors of Canada Ltd. make the case to its parent company, General Motors Corp., to invest more than $700-million (Canadian) to assemble a more fuel-efficient rear-wheel-drive transmission at St. Catharines, Ont. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 27, 2008 - The $250 million Ottawa plans to pump into Canada's automotive sector could help workers in Niagara's struggling manufacturing sector, says St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan, whose community is reeling from job losses at General Motors.” In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 26, 2008 - The United Auto Workers launched a strike against American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. late Monday night after negotiations broke off when the two sides failed to reach a deal on a new labour pact.” In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 21, 2008 - The Big Three vehicle makers in Canada are not operating at a huge labour cost disadvantage compared to the United States, the Canadian Auto Workers insists.” In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 19, 2008 - Workers at Martinrea International Inc.'s Kitchener Frame Ltd. auto parts plant got a one-year reprieve from their plant shutting down following negotiations with the facility's management on Monday.” In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 17, 2008 - Lutz told a group of reporters that “global warming is a crock of sh*t.” Lutz then went on to hit Toyota, saying the Prius “makes no economic sense.” In "Trades News Articles"
China has experienced its first defeat at the World Trade Organization (WTO), in a case referred to restrictions on the importation of foreign-made car parts. Upholding a complaint from the European Union, Canada and United States, the preliminary WTO finding agrees that current Chinese practice is protectionist. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 13, 2008 - GM announced yet another sweeping buyout program to all of its 74,000 hourly workers who are represented by the UAW, part of an ongoing effort to reduce the number of highly paid autoworkers at the company. In "Trades News Articles"
North America's traditional automotive industry will effectively disappear within a decade if Ottawa doesn't put trade restrictions on imported vehicles, CAW president Buzz Hargrove says. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 12, 2008 - Martinrea International Inc. says it intends to close the Kitchener Frame auto parts plant next year unless it finds new work and lowers production costs, a union official said Monday. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 7, 2008 - The crisis afflicting much of Canada's auto parts industry deepened Wednesday with the announcement of another plant closing in Windsor, Ont., raising the stakes for the federal government as it decides whether to spend $30-million to help reopen another plant in the beleaguered city. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 5, 2008 - GM on Tuesday announced a $69 million investment in an Ohio plant to manufacture a new diesel engine that will meet U.S. emission standards due to go into effect in 2010. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 4, 2008 - Leaders from General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers union soon will begin touring the automaker's U.S. plants to help determine which factory jobs should be reclassified as lower-wage positions. In "Trades News Articles"
Feb 2, 2008 - GM, the industry leader, said its volumes soared 18.1 per cent or more than 4,000 to 26,404 because of surging business for its small cars, the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and sport utility vehicles. In "Trades News Articles"
January 2008 Jan 30, 2008 - Canada's manufacturing sector is in a state of crisis. Over the past five years, the Canadian economy has lost more than 350,000 manufacturing jobs as a result of plant closures and permanent layoffs in communities from coast to coast. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 28, 2008 - Chrysler LLC said on Monday it is offering buyouts of up to $100,000 each to hourly workers at 12 of its Detroit-area facilities as part of its November plan to eliminate up to 10,000 unionized jobs. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 26, 2008 - Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union occupied a tool-and-die making plant in Kitchener, Ont., Friday in a bid to force creditors of the closed operation to pay severance to workers. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 25, 2008 - Despite a reported change in plans for General Motors Corp.'s car-assembly complex in Oshawa, Ont., the Canadian Auto Workers union says enough money has been invested in the huge plant to ensure it thrives. In "Trades News Articles"
Industry Minister Jim Prentice says Ford might yet qualify for federal help to reopen an engine plant in Windsor, Ont., because Ontario manufacturers would be eligible to tap the Harper government's $1-billion economic hardship fund if the province agrees. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 23, 2008 - Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is threatening to impose trade barriers on automobiles imported to the province from South Korea unless that country opens up its market to cars and trucks made here. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 21, 2008 - The federal Conservatives say they won't subsidize the Ford Essex Engine Plant, but General Motors says it is having no problem negotiating for Ottawa's support for a major project in St. Catharines. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 18, 2008 - The blame for the delay in the transmission line announcement lies squarely on the shoulders of the corporation. Without an announcement of more work at this facility our communities will certainly endure more unemployment and hardship. In "Your Soap Box"
GM in the U.S. will roll out retirement incentives to nearly two-thirds of its 72,000 hourly workers and may have to further cut U.S. production in 2008, which could mean eliminating shifts or closing plants. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 17, 2008 - The Harper government has refused to provide financial aid to the auto industry, including funding to support a $300-million plan to reopen a shuttered engine plant in Windsor, Ont. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 15, 2008 - GM is still studying which cars to build in Oshawa, Ont., alongside the new Camaro because the U.S. debate on fuel economy means it's difficult to assess the market for rear-wheel-drive cars, company chairman Rick Wagoner says. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 13, 2008 - St. Catharines mayor Brian McMullan visited GM's powertrain plant on Glendale Avenue Thursday with Regional Chairman Peter Partington, St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley and St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra to discuss how government can help Canadian manufacturing. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 11, 2008 - Premier Dalton McGuinty says he'll press Stephen Harper tonight for more help for Ontario's vulnerable manufacturing workers beyond the "inadequate" package dangled by the Prime Minister. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 10, 2008 - Buzz Hargrove, the feisty president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, has taken a lot of heat both from within his own union and from other unions for his decision to sign a no-strike agreement with auto parts giant Magna International. In "Trades News Articles"
Buzz Hargrove of the CAW said on Thursday that Ottawa's planned C$1 billion fund to aid industry sectors hurt by global economic turmoil falls far short of what is needed to help the ailing Canadian auto industry. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 7, 2008 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to dampen provincial expectations this week when he considers demands from the premiers for more generous employment-insurance benefits and financial aid for the country's hard-hit manufacturing sector. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 4, 2008 - General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. just wrapped up one of their best years for vehicle quality and critical acclaim -- and one of their worst in sales. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 3, 2008 - The General Motors Powertrain Plant in the Town of Tonawanda will not produce a new line of powerful V-8 engines, the value of which is estimated at more than $300 million. In "Trades News Articles"
GM had been working on an engine program to replace the Northstar with a new high-tech DOHC V8 for its luxury cars, but revealed today that the program's been cancelled. In "Trades News Articles"
Jan 2, 2008 - What to build in Canada? With the loonie knocking the stuffings out of industries, the country's future in manufacturing is unclear. In "Trades News Articles"
December 2007 Dec 23, 2007 - Leaders of the CAW union will meet with management at General Motors of Canada Ltd. early in the new year to discuss what impact the U.S. new energy bill will have on the future of auto manufacturing in the country. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 21, 2007 - GM., the world's largest automaker, agreed to sell a truck-making unit with an estimated value of $500 million to Navistar International Corp. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 20, 2007 - President Bush in the U.S. signed an historic increase in fuel efficiency requirements this morning, as more than 30 members of Congress and many of the top automotive lobbyists looked on. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 16, 2007 - General Motors Corporation announced December 14 the production of its 500,000th six-speed rear-wheel-drive (RWD) automatic transmission at its Ypsilanti Transmission Operations (YTO) in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 15, 2007 - It's that time of year, for all the end of year awards and top ten lists to surface, but Ward's always brings something different to the table. Rather than pick out the best car or truck that was new this year, the automotive trade journal picks the ten best engines, and this year it focused on motors that manage to balance the competing demands of more power and more fuel economy. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 14, 2007 - Regulations that will fundamentally change the vehicles that Detroit's automakers build and sell were passed by the Senate on Thursday night by an 86-8 vote. The approval of the historic, national energy bill increases fuel efficiency regulations for the first time in decades. In "Trades News Articles"
The Ontario government is doling out $1.1-billion in tax relief to corporations over three years as part of a plan to help the ailing manufacturing sector, which has been hard hit by job losses. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 11, 2007 - UAW President Ron Gettelfinger hopes that some products produced in Canada could come back to the United States. That is likely to make next year's contract talks between the car companies and the CAW even more challenging than this year's negotiations with the UAW. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 8, 2007 - Canada's auto union pugilist, Buzz Hargrove faces the fight of his life with Big Three negotiations this September. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 7, 2007 - The U.S. House approved a landmark energy bill Thursday that increases fuel economy standards by 40 percent by 2020 but the measure faces substantial hurdles in the Senate and a likely veto by the White House. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 6, 2007 - Details are in on the C.A.F.E. bill that the U.S. House is likely to vote on Thursday. It is a massive energy bill that rescinds $21 billion in oil industry tax breaks and hikes industrywide fuel efficiency standards by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 5, 2007 - General Motors Corp. will shut its pickup truck factory in Oshawa, Ont., for two weeks in January as the effects of the U.S. housing crisis spill over the border into the auto industry in Canada. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 4, 2007 - With American consumers' confidence eroded by falling home values and rising energy costs, vehicle sales slumped in November and automakers braced for another tough year in 2008. In "Trades News Articles"
U.S. President Bush's chief economic adviser warned Democrats on Monday that an energy bill, including a compromise fuel economy rule of 35 m.p.g. by 2020 reached Friday, could face a veto if several provisions aren't changed. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 3, 2007 - As the Detroit 3 tout the benefits of their new, concessionary UAW contracts, several supplier CEOs are eager for "me too" deals with the union. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 2, 2007 - Automakers on Saturday endorsed a landmark compromise bill reached Friday that will hike fuel economy requirements by 40 percent by 2020 to an industry fleet average of 35 miles per gallon. In "Trades News Articles"
Dec 1, 2007 - Ontario will be the biggest loser in auto production among jurisdictions in North America during the next five years, according to a leading industry journal. In "Trades News Articles"
General Motors Corp. is negotiating a new special attrition plan on a plant-by-plant basis, GM CFO Fritz Henderson told analysts in New York last night, according to an analyst report. In "Trades News Articles"
November 2007 Nov 27, 2007 - Congressional negotiators are close to agreement on an increase in fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, with some caveats to satisfy U.S. automakers. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 24, 2007 - Ottawa might throw a lifeline in the next federal budget to struggling Canadian manufacturers caught in a "perfect storm" of a soaring loonie and growing import competition, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty hinted Friday. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 21, 2007 - Canadian auto manufacturers issued the starkest warning yet that their industry is headed for a deep crisis, telling federal lawmakers yesterday the loonie's fast rise and other factors have made Canada the most expensive place in the world to make cars. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 17, 2007 - A federal appeals court Thursday threw out the Bush administration's standards to improve the fuel efficiency of pickups, vans and SUVs, saying the rules didn't take into account the impact of auto emissions on the environment. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 15, 2007 - The bleeding of automotive jobs in Ontario, Canada's industrial heartland, is casting a dark shadow on provincial government's policy of providing substantial financial support to the auto industry. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 14, 2007 - A long-anticipated influx of Chinese-built cars to the United States is not likely to occur soon, China's top diplomat in Washington said Tuesday. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 7, 2007 - General Motors Corp. recorded a loss of $39 billion, or $68.85 a share, in the third quarter compared to a loss of $147 million, or 26 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. In "Trades News Articles"
Automotive News is reporting that since General Motors' plans for a rear-wheel-drive Impala replacement that's based on the Australian-sourced Zeta platform are up in the air (you can thank the U.S. government and its never ending debate on a CAFE increase for that), a backup plan for a front-wheel-drive is in place. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 5, 2007 - The tentative contract between Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers keeps all the automaker's U.S. assembly plants open during the four-year contract term, according to people familiar with the deal. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 3, 2007 - Ford Motor Co. and the UAW reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract at 3:20 a.m. this morning, the union said in a statement. In "Trades News Articles"
Nov 2, 2007 - Chrysler LLC said Thursday it would cut 12,000 jobs in North America through 2008, including up to 10,000 hourly workers, as it retrenches in the face of lower than expected demand for its cars and trucks. In "Trades News Articles"
Auto sales in Canada by Detroit's Big Three automakers outdid the competition in October for the first time in about 10 years, according to company figures released on Thursday. In "Trades News Articles"
October 2007 Oct 30, 2007 - General Motors Corp. began production today of the first American-designed advanced hybrid transmission at its plant just outside Baltimore. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 26, 2007 - The high Canadian dollar will have to be compensated for as General Motors prepares a business case for new transmission work in St. Catharines, its vice-president said Thursday. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 24, 2007 - A day after General Motors Corp. said it would drop a third shift at the Lansing Delta Township assembly plant, workers there are dubious of the automaker's explanation for resulting layoffs. In "Trades News Articles"
Canada would suffer a net loss of up to 33,000 manufacturing jobs if it agrees to free trade with South Korea, the CAW Union said Tuesday as it stepped up its campaign against dropping trade barriers with the Asian manufacturing giant. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 23, 2007 - Third-shift workers at the GM Lansing Delta Township assembly plant and the auto parts suppliers that support it will be out of work in a month. The St. Catharines engine plant supplies all of the HFV6 engines to Lansing. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 21, 2007 - Ratification of the contract between the UAW and Chrysler is hitting some major opposition, as workers at Chrysler facilities across the country vote this weekend on the tentative agreement. In "Trades News Articles"
Day 2 of looming unemployment started like any other for Dana Canada employee Bill Gilligan. The St. Catharines man drove up the long laneway of the Thorold drive train plant on Hayes Road, ready to start his afternoon shift on Friday. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 20, 2007 - General Motors Corp said on Friday it would cut the second shift at a truck plant in Pontiac, Michigan, to adjust production levels in response to slack demand for pickup trucks. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 17, 2007 - General Motors Corp. is eliminating a shift at its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center a week after finalizing a new contract with the UAW, a company official confirmed Tuesday. The move will eliminate 767 hourly workers, said GM spokesman Tom Wickham. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 16, 2007 - GM's new labour pact with the UAW will slash labour costs by allowing the automaker to eventually replace up to three-quarters of veteran factory workers with lower-paid new hires who won't get costly retirement benefits promised to their predecessors. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 14, 2007 - Magna International Inc. and the CAW have reached an unprecedented deal that will make union organizing easier at the company's plants here but eliminate the right to strike for several years and perhaps indefinitely. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 11, 2007 - UAW members have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with General Motors. The vote was 66 percent in favour of the four-year pact among production workers, and 64 percent in favour among skilled trades workers. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 10, 2007 - The UAW, which had 34,000 workers strike at 18 of Chrysler’s 25 U.S. manufacturing plants today after negotiations over a new labour contract failed to meet an 11 a.m. deadline, has reached a deal with Chrysler, the union and company announced this evening in separate statements. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 9, 2007 - Canada is heading for its largest automotive trade deficit on record this year, the Canadian Auto Workers union says in a paper to be released today. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 7, 2007 - The UAW is ramping up negotiations with Chrysler LLC with momentum growing toward ratification of the union's proposed contract with General Motors Corp. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 6, 2007 - "What does this mean? Patrick McAuliffe, 12, asked his parents with a look of horror when he learned recently more layoffs were coming in the Oshawa auto industry where his parents work. "Are we going to have to move to China now? In "Trades News Articles"
Workers at a UAW local in Romulus have rejected the union's tentative agreement with General Motors Corp. -- despite the contract's promise to keep work at their plant. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 5, 2007 - Momentum has been building toward the United Auto Workers accepting a tentative contract with General Motors Corp though members at key locals backed it by narrow margins in results released on Thursday. In "Trades News Articles"
Oct 3, 2007 - Niagara Falls' two casinos are an important part of our local economy and employ more people than the city's next 8 largest employers combined. Those other 8 employers are hotel and restaurant companies which are at least partially dependant on the casino to attract visitors to Niagara Falls. Please sign the petition in "Trades News Articles"
Oct 1, 2007 - The tentative contract between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers would allow GM to close a plant each in Michigan and Indiana and possibly shut down several other facilities, according to a detailed copy of the agreement. In "Trades News Articles"
September 2007 Sept 29, 2007 - Canadian auto plants operated by the Detroit Three still have a competitive advantage over U.S. facilities even after the new contract between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers, Jim Stanford, the Canadian Auto Workers union's economist, said yesterday. In "Trades News Articles"
Under the tentative contract reached between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers, GM made commitments to build current or future products at 16 plants across the U.S. In "Trades News Articles"
A copy of the agreement reached between the UAW and General Motors can be found in PDF format at the link in "Trades News Articles"
Sept 28, 2007 - General Motors workers in St. Catharines were relieved to be on the job Wednesday, but at least one industry analyst said the company's tentative agreement with U.S. workers could be bad news for Canada. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 26, 2007 - The Free Press has obtained new details concerning key issues in the tentative agreement reached by the UAW and General Motors Corp. They includedetails that can be found at the link in "Trades News Articles"
The UAW and General Motors Corp. this morning reached a tentative agreement on a new contract for autoworkers, ending the union's first nationwide strike in 31 years. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 25, 2007 - General Motors workers in St. Catharines could be impacted by the strike against the automaker in the United States by Thursday, the Canadian Auto Workers union says. In "Trades News Articles"
More than 80,000 Canadian workers – including 15,000 at General Motors – will probably be off the job by the end of this week if a national strike at the auto giant in the United States continues, a top union leader says. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 24, 2007 - UAW members started picketing at GM plants in the U.S. when the union’s 11 a.m. deadline for a new labour agreement with General Motors Corp. passed. In "Trades News Articles"
The United Auto Workers plans to strike at 11 a.m. today if a deal has not been reached with General Motors Corp. by then, the union told its members late Sunday. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 23, 2007 - With a general framework for a retiree health care deal in hand, UAW and General Motors Corp. negotiators met into the evening Saturday and resumed today, working to resolve other core financial issues in what people close to the talks characterized as the final push. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 22, 2007 - The UAW and General Motors Corp. reached a general framework Friday on a retiree health care deal, overcoming the key obstacle to reaching agreement on a labour contract that could transform the domestic auto industry, people familiar with the talks said. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 21, 2007 - So, after days and days of going round and round about how to get a $50-billion commitment for future retiree health care off of General Motors Corp.’s balance sheet and into a union-run trust fund, the UAW and GM have punted this vexing issue off to the side while they discuss other matters. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 20, 2007 - General Motors Corp. and the UAW appear to be inching closer to a deal that would transfer tens of billions of dollars of retiree health care obligations from the automaker to the UAW, but a tentative agreement on the overarching contract is likely "days away," people familiar with the talks said Wednesday. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 19, 2007 - UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has warned his members that the union will be setting a strike deadline if negotiations with General Motors Corp. do not progress faster. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 17, 2007 - Contract talks between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers broke off about 9 p.m. tonight and will resume Tuesday morning, GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said. In "Trades News Articles"
Negotiators from General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers tackled a number of hot-button issues Sunday, including the possibility of giving workers cash bonuses to sign off on a deal, sources close to the talks said. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 16, 2007 - Contract talks between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. ended at about 9 p.m. Saturday and are set to resume late Sunday morning, GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 14, 2007 - The UAW has selected General Motors Corp. to be the lead negotiating partner, also known as a strike target, in the year’s national contract talks, leading people to believe the union has agreed — in principle — to establish the retiree health care trust that the nation’s largest automaker so desperately wants. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 11, 2007 - After days of tense bargaining, the UAW and Detroit's automakers haven't agreed on key elements of a new contract, including the creation of health care trusts to fund retiree benefits. An agreement before Friday seems unlikely. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 5, 2007 - General Motors Corp. today said it posted a 5 percent North American sales gain in August, delivering 388,168 vehicles and recording a 26 percent market share, its highest of the year. In "Trades News Articles"
Sept 3, 2007 - Labour Day, which is marked across Canada today, was originally set aside to honour the millions of Canadians who work long and hard to support themselves and their families. But in recent years it has become a time when media outlets are filled with stories about the decline of organized labour, the rapid loss of manufacturing jobs in Ontario and the struggles of the working poor. In "Trades News Articles"
As the federal government sits idly by, refusing to take responsibility for the crisis in manufacturing, we continue to lose jobs. Last week's announcement in Oshawa was just the latest blow, and there'll be more to come unless we change course quickly. In "Trades News Articles"
August 2007 Aug 30, 2007 - Strong sales of small cars and ongoing retirements have allowed General Motors of Canada to rescind all but 49 of the 375 permanent layoffs it issued for the Windsor Transmission plant earlier this year. In "Trades News Articles"
General Motors of Canada Ltd. has confirmed it is cutting 1,200 jobs at an Ontario truck plant next January, a move the Canadian Auto Workers Union says shows the effect of slumping U.S. housing and credit markets on the already struggling auto industry. In "Trades News Articles"
Aug 22, 2007 - General Motors Corp. will cut production of large trucks and sport utility vehicles to avoid overstocking as demand for vehicles slips, the automaker said today. In "Trades News Articles"
Aug 20, 2007 - Don't let the quiet fool you: At least two of Detroit's three automakers already have made "economic" proposals to the United Auto Workers that aim to cut hourly labour costs nearly 30 percent. In "Trades News Articles"
Aug 10, 2007 - General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told an industry gathering Thursday morning that the automaker will partner with A123 Systems Inc., one of the biggest battery developers, to develop a lithium-ion battery for the Volt plug-in electric hybrid. In "Trades News Articles"
Aug 3, 2007 - Toyota's plug-in electric car may have less than half the range of a competing vehicle planned by General Motors Corp., people with knowledge of both companies' development programs said. In "Trades News Articles"
Aug 1, 2007 - UAW leaders have compiled data from the Harbour Report, a respected annual study of manufacturing efficiency, that they contend show union labour is more efficient than non-union labour at auto assembly plants where direct comparisons can be made. In "Trades News Articles"
July 2007 July 31, 2007 - General Motors Corp. said today it earned $891 million in the second quarter, compared its $3.4 billion loss for the same period a year ago. In "Trades News Articles"
July 27, 2007 - Say the word "apprentice" and many of us think of the cheesy reality TV show. But not so long ago becoming an "apprentice" was a source of genuine pride for huge numbers of school leavers. Part-time, on-the-job training was a well-trodden and respectable path - a near-certain route to a secure and fulfilling future. In "Trades News Articles"
July 26, 2007 - GM will add a third shift and about 500 temporary workers at its plant near Lansing where it builds the Lamba crossover vehicles. In "Trades News Articles"
July 16, 2007 - At $18.50 an hour with limited benefits, Forrest Ammons earns a decent living building cars at Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant. In "Trades News Articles"
July 14, 2007 - Despite popular new vehicles such as the GMC Acadia and Ford Edge, General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. continue losing their share of new car and truck buyers in dealer showrooms across America. In "Trades News Articles"
July 7, 2007 - "He told me the Windsor guys were yelling at the St. Catharines people, 'You stole our jobs!'" my friend says. "He said, 'You know, in the old days we used to fight the company. Now we're fighting ourselves.' " In "Trades News Articles"
July 6, 2007 - A new transmission line and up to 600 new jobs have cleared a major hurdle towards their eventual location in St. Catharines. In "Trades News Articles"
July 5, 2007 - GM on Tuesday posted a steeper-than-expected 24 percent drop in U.S. sales in June as local automakers lost share to Toyota and other Japanese brands. In "Trades News Articles"
June 2007 June 30, 2007 - Delphi worker Ken Blackmer was stocking parts on the assembly line at Flint East on Friday when he heard that UAW members at the auto-parts maker had approved a contract proposal that would save his plant. In "Trades News Articles"
June 29, 2007 - Why should new hires be paid a substandard wage? Why should cost of living increases be cut? Why shouldn’t janitors, who work as hard for the least pay, get union wages? In "Trades News Articles"
GM said Thursday that it had agreed to sell the commercial and military business of its Allison Transmission unit for about $5.6 billion to a private equity firm, the Carlyle Group, and the Onex Corporation of Canada. In "Trades News Articles"
June 23, 2007 - Delphi Corp. and former parent General Motors Corp. said they have reached a deal with the United Auto Workers on a labour contract that will allow the Troy-based auto supplier to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year. In "Trades News Articles"
June 20, 2007 - A new Ontario government program that encourages automakers to build more ecologically sound vehicles could be a boon for St. Catharines, says the city’s MPP Jim Bradley. In "Trades News Articles"
June 17, 2007 - General Motors announced Friday that it will invest $100 million at its Tonawanda Engine Plant to produce a new diesel engine for pickup trucks and SUVs — a first for the automaker and its local plant. In "Trades News Articles"
June 13, 2007 - U.S. automakers faced with enormous retiree health benefits costs may well join other large U.S. companies in shifting more of the long-term risks of meeting those obligations to workers. In "Trades News Articles"
June 12, 2007 - Civic leaders hear Toyota workers' call for unionization - 06/12/07 Sunday about low wages and poor working conditions -- rallying points many in the assembly line are hoping will ultimately lead to unionization. In "Trades News Articles"
June 9, 2007 - The decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to strike down legislation aimed directly at taking away the rights of working people is a landmark according to the labour movement. "This is a great day for workers because this decision means that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does protect workers' rights including the process of collective bargaining." In "Trades News Articles"
June 5, 2007 - CAW leader Buzz Hargrove said he'll use the union's full strength to "take down" General Motors with nation-wide strikes if the company doesn't find a new product to build at the Windsor Transmission plant. In "Trades News Articles"
May 2007 |
