Abandoned promise angers CAW in talks
With tentative contracts already settled with GM and Ford (see WIT?s for Oct. 1, and Sep. 18, 2002), and a strike date of October 15 likely to be set on Monday in its ongoing negotiations with DaimlerChrysler, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) will be pressing the corporation hard about its failure to meet promises made in the last round of negotiations. In contract talks during 1999 Chrysler agreed to build a new paint shop at a van assembly plant that would otherwise have been shutdown, but never completed construction and now plans to close the entire facility after the 2003 model year. While the company is trying to focus on lessening the impact of the closing on the 1,100 CAW employed there, the union is treating the matter as an issue of trust and is pushing for DaimlerChrysler to make good on its promise and agree to a commitment to create jobs similar to those in the recent Ford and GM contracts.