January 30, 2012

Caterpillar dispute a factor in CAW-CEP union merger talks

LONDON, ONT.

The lockout of workers at a London, Ontario plant owned by Caterpillar Inc. is one factor in merger talks between the executive boards of the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers unions.

The organizations have tasked a committee to report on whether a new union is feasible and desirable.

“Events like the lockout at Caterpillar have made it increasingly obvious that Canadian workers need a stronger, more active, and more innovative labour movement to defend them,” CAW national president Ken Lewenza stated in a press release.

Lewenza goes on to state the unions need to combine their resources in what he calls an “incredibly hostile economic environment.”

Caterpillar, whose products include heavy construction equipment, also owns Electro Motive Diesel (EMD) Inc., which is involved in a labour dispute with members from CAW Local 27 at its London locomotive assembly plant. Published reports indicate the employer wants to reduce wages, benefits and pensions.

EMD was spun off from General Motors in 2005 and acquired by Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, in 2010.

The London plant, established in 1949, is located on Oxford Street across from the General Dynamics Land Systems wheeled armoured personnel carrier plant, which is also a former General Motors Diesel Division factory. EMD has plants in the United States and Lewenza has expressed concern in the past over the firm’s commitment to keep jobs in London.

Leaders from CAW and CEP have held “preliminary discussions” to explore the possibility of creating a new Canadian union. Boards from both organizations approved a “process protocol” document that “sets out the terms of reference and a timeline for union representatives to explore issues related to the formation of a new union.”

CAW says a “representative committee” will investigate issues related to a new union, including dues and finances, representative structures, and “regional issues.”

The committee will issue a report on “whether a new union is feasible and desirable in time for the upcoming conventions of both unions

DCN DIGITAL MEDIA

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