OSHAWA -- Local 222 president Chris Buckley said the Canadian Auto Workers union will do everything in its power to ensure the truck plant does not close.
Mr. Buckley made his comments at a news conference at the local hall on Tuesday afternoon after General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner announced the plant would be closing in 2009. The announcement means 2,600 jobs will be lost, Mr. Buckley said.
Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said after the news conference that the closing of the Oshawa truck plant and three other North American plants is a response to rising fuel prices. He said soaring gas costs have created a dramatic shift in the auto market in the U.S.
Truck plant chairman Greg Moffatt said the move is unfair. He said at the news conference the Oshawa plant has earned the right to build because it is the most productive plant GM has.
"You don't throw your best out first," Mr. Moffatt said. His statement was greeted with applause by CAW members.
The union ratified a three-year collective agreement with GM on May 16. The agreement included future product allocation for the plant, which was the union's main goal going into bargaining, Mr. Buckley said. Silverado and Sierra hybrids were to be produced out of the plant, CAW national president Buzz Hargrove said at the time.
The breakdown of job losses if the plant closes means about a thousand workers from each shift will be cut. Over 100 management jobs and 350-400 skilled trade jobs will also be lost.
Mr. Buckley said the union made decisions that were not popular to guarantee the product in the truck plant, like wage freezes.
"GM misled us," Mr. Buckley said.
Terry McDonald has worked in the skilled trade division of the truck plant for over 21 years. Emotions are running high at the plant today, he said.
"It's a total shock," he said.
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