OSHAWA -- Reeling from news that GM is cutting up to another 1,000 jobs at the Oshawa truck plant, local union leaders are asking the public to contact their federal MPs and pressure the Conservative government to implement policies that could save auto jobs. At a news conference Tuesday morning that attracted local and national media, Local 222 president Chris Buckley chided local Finance Minister Jim Flaherty -- who is MP for Whitby-Oshawa -- and the federal government for "turning its back" on the auto industry and its workers.
"The government has the tools to correct the situation but refuses to use them," Mr. Buckley said at the CAW Local 222 Union Hall.
General Motors announced Monday it was chopping the second shift at its truck assembly plant in Oshawa. In January they eliminated the third shift. About 1,000 workers make up a shift. The union will be entering talks with GM to try to save the shift, Mr. Buckley said, but he wasn't optimistic.
Mr. Buckley said he wants to see pressure put on the Conservative government to lower the Canadian dollar value and replace unfair trade policies that allow cheaper imports to flood the market, cutting into market share.
"He (Flaherty) can control the rising dollar and stop negotiating a free trade agreement with South Korea that will further devastate the auto industry," Mr. Buckley said. "The economy will stall if the government doesn't do anything."
Mr. Buckley's local represents the 900 to 1,000 workers who will be out of work come September as a result of declining truck sales. Record gas prices and the softening economy and housing market in the U.S. are contributing factors.
Oil prices are hurting not only GM but other truck-makers like Ford and Nissan, said truck plant chairman Greg Moffatt.
"The government thinks it's OK that gasoline is $1.20 a litre," he said. "Oil companies can make a $9-billion profit. The government has to step up to the plate."
High fuel prices and a softening in the U.S. economy are key factors in the decline in truck sales, Mr. Buckley said, adding that the pick-up trucks manufactured in Oshawa are among the most fuel efficient.
The CAW is organizing a "Manufacturing Matters Rally" Sunday June 1 at 11 a.m. They will meet at the Midtown Mall and march up John Street and hold a mass rally at Oshawa's Memorial Park.
The rally will underscore the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs that affect everyone, Mr. Buckley said. Some 350,000 Canadian manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2002.
One auto assembly job creates 7.5 spinoff jobs in the community, Mr. Buckley said.
"It's designed to create public support for the manufacturing industry," he said. "I'm asking people to join us to send a message to our officials that we have a crisis on our hands."
Last May a similar rally took place and drew 1,000 supporters.