The 'Canadian Auto Workers' (CAW) (properly the National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada) is one of
Canada's largest and highest profile
trade unions. While rooted in the large auto plants of
Windsor, Ontario,
Brampton, Ontario,
Oakville, Ontario,
St. Catharines, Ontario and
Oshawa, Ontario; the CAW has in recent years expanded and now incorporates workers in industries from fisheries to air travel. Currently led by
Buzz Hargrove, the union is strongly left leaning and it has traditionally been a strong supporter of the
New Democratic Party (NDP) and the
Bloc Québécois (Bloc). However, it began lending its support to the
Liberal Party of Canada in ridings which the NDP were unlikely to win in the recent federal elections.
History
The 'CAW' began as the Canadian Region of the
United Auto Workers (UAW).
The UAW was founded in August 1935, and the Canadian Region of the UAW was established in 1937 at
General Motors's
Oshawa, Ontario plant after a contentious and violent
strike. Before 1979, the Canadian Region was largely seen to follow in the contractual footsteps of the larger US-UAW, and despite growing differences, continued under the auspice of the UAW until 1985.
The reasons for the CAW split from the UAW are complicated. Holmes and Rusonik (1990) contend that although the Canadian labour movement has been seen as traditionally more militant than its American counterpart, it was in fact the uneven geographical development of both management and labour restructuring that:
led the Canadian auto-workers to develop a distinctly different set of collective bargaining objectives, [which] placed them in a far stronger bargaining position as compared to the UAW in the U.S., and, ultimately, brought about the events that led directly to the Split.
Two of the main forces demanding the restructuring of management and Labour during this time were the rise of Japan as a major
automotive force, and the general
recession of the world economy in the late 70's and early 80's. Aided by the
Auto Pact and the weakening
Canadian dollar in relation to the
Greenback, a geographic difference developed which provided some relief to the Canadian auto-worker.
By December 1984, significant differences in the value of negotiated contracts, and divergent union objectives had set the stage for the creation of the CAW, a process documented in the
Genie Award winning film, ''
Final Offer''.
In 1984, the Canadian section of the UAW, under the leadership of
Bob White and his assistants Buzz Hargrove and
Bob Nickerson, broke from the UAW because the American union was seen as giving away too much in the way of concessions during
collective bargaining. Additionally, the UAW had been lobbying the U.S. Congress to force the transfer of auto production from Canada to the U.S. and the Canadian branch felt there was a lack of a representative voice during UAW's conventions.
In
1985 the split from the American union was complete and Bob White was acclaimed as the first President of the CAW. He went on to serve 3 terms as president.
After separation, the CAW began to grow quickly in size and stature. It merged with a number of smaller unions to double in size and become the largest
private sector union in the country. Most notable were the mergers with the
Fishermen, Food, and Allied Workers and the
Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Transport and General Workers. The CAW also voiced strong opposition to the then-federal government of
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and such policies as the
Goods and Services Tax and
free trade.
Under White and Hargrove, the CAW has moved toward the European model of
social unionism and away from American
business unionism.
In
2000, the CAW was expelled from the
Canadian Labour Congress when several union locals left the
SEIU and joined the CAW, prompting accusations of union raiding. A settlement was reached a year later that allowed the CAW to rejoin the national labour federation but relations with other unions such as the
Canadian Union of Public Employees, the
United Steel Workers of America and SEIU remain strained and the CAW remains outside of the
Ontario Federation of Labour.
CAW leaders
'Canadian Directors of the UAW'
★
Charles Millard (1937-1939)
★
George Burt (1939-1968)
★
Dennis McDermott (1968-1978)
★
Bob White (1978-1985)
'Presidents of the Canadian Auto Workers'
★
Bob White (1985-1992)
★
Buzz Hargrove (1992-present)
Major CAW employers
Major auto
★
General Motors of Canada –
Local 195,
199,
222,
636,
1001,
1973
★
Ford Motor Company of Canada –
Local 200,
240,
707,
1520
★
DaimlerChrysler Canada–
Local 144,
195,
432,
444,
1090,
1285
★
CAMI Automotive–
Local 88
Independent auto parts
★
Lear Corporation–
Local 222,
1090,
1524,
1973
★
ThyssenKrupp (Budd and Fabco) –
Local 1451
★
Siemens Automotive and Electric–
Local 27,
127,
1941
★
Wescast Industries–
Local 397
★
AGS Automotive Systems–
Local 195,
222
★
Woodbridge Foam–
Local 112,
127,
222
★
PPG Glass–
Local 222
★
Standard Products
★
Magna International (incl. Intier)
★
Hayes-Dana–
Local 27,
199,
676
★
Meritor Automotive–
Local 127
★
Ventra Plastics–
Local 127,
195,
1524
★
Johnson Controls–
Local 222,
444
Aerospace
★
Pratt and Whitney–
Local 510
★
Bombardier/
de Havilland–
Local 112
★
Boeing Canada–
Local 1967,
CAW Local 2169
★
CMC Electronics
★
IMP Group
★
Magellan Aerospace/
Bristol–
Local 3005
Specialty vehicles
★ GM/
General Dynamics (London) –
Local 27
★
Sterling/
Freightliner–
Local 252
★
Prevost/
Volvo (Ste. Claire, Que.)
★
Navistar International (Chatham)
★
John Deere (Welland) –
Local 275
★
Bombardier (Thunder Bay/Kingston)
★
New Flyer Industries (Winnipeg) –
Local 3003
★
Paccar/
Kenworth (Que.)
Shipbuilding
★
Halifax Shipyard–
CAW/MWF Local 1
★
Marystown Shipyard
★
Shelburne Ship Repair
Electrical and electronics
★
Camco
★
General Electric–
Local 3003
★
Westinghouse
★
Nortel Networks
General manufacturing
★
Collins and Aikman Plastics
★
Coca Cola Bottling Co. —
Local 126, Local 350, Local 385, Local 973
★
Hershey–
Local 462
★
MTD Products
★
Atlas Steels
★
Kautex Textron
★
McGregor Hosiery Mills–
Local 40
★
Parmalat–
Local 462
★
Nestlé Enterprises–
Local 252
★
Bazaar and Novelty–
Local 462
★
Guelph Products
★
LTV Copperweld–
Local 636
★
PepsiCo Foods–
Local 1996
★
St. Anne Nackawic Pulp Co. –
Local 219
★
Rivenwood Furniture -
National Council 4000
★
Scanwood Canada Ltd. -
National Council 4000
Air transportation
★
Air Canada and Regional–
Local 2002
★
NavCanada–
Local 2245,
5454
★
Worldwide Flight Services–
Local 2002
★ Handlex (
Air Transat) –
Local 2002
★
First Air–
Local 2002
Railways
★
Canadian National Railway –
Local 100,
National Council 4000
★
Canadian Pacific Railway – Local 101, 103,104
★
Ontario Northland Railway - Local 102
★
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations-
National Council 4000
★
Savage Alberta Railway –
National Council 4000
★
Toronto Terminal Railways -
National Council 4000
★
VIA Rail Canada –
National Council 4000,
Local 100
WABCO Stoney Creek CAW Local 558
Marine transportation
★
Bay Ferries, Saint John, NB-Digby, NS-
Local 4404
★
St. Lawrence Seaway–
Local 4212
★
Marine Atlantic
Other transportation
★
Coast Mountain Bus Company, Greater Vancouver–
Local 111,
2200
★
DHL (Loomis) Courier–
Local 114,
144,
4050,
4278,
National Council 4000
★
Durham Region Transit -
Local 222
★
Grand River Transit
★
Laidlaw(carrier and transit) –
Local 195,
4268
★
Blue Line Taxi, Ottawa
★
Canadian Waste Services–
Local 4050,
4209,
4268
★
BC Transit, Victoria–
Local 333
★
Reimer Express Lines–
Local 4209
★
Brinks
★
Securicor Cash Services–
Local 114
Fisheries
★ East Coast fish harvesters –
FFAW/CAW
★ East Coast fish plant workers –
FFAW/CAW
★ West Coast fish harvesters and fish plant workers (UFAWU)
★ Great Lakes fish harvesters and fish plant workers –
Local 444
Mining and smelting
★
Falconbridge–
Local 598
★
Alcan–
Local 2301
★
NVI Mining-
Local 3019
★
Windsor Salt–
Local 1959
Hospitality and gaming
★
Canadian Pacific/
Fairmont/
Delta Hotels–
Local 4050
★
Casino Windsor–
Local 444
★
White Spot Restaurants
★
Radisson Hotels–
Local 195,
3000,
4209
★
Kentucky Fried Chicken–
Local 3000
★
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
★
Northern Lights Casino
★
Marriot Hotels
Retail and wholesale trade
★
Dominion Stores/
A&P Canada/
Superfresh–
Local 414
★
Food Basics–
Local 414
★
Loblaws -
Local 414
★
No Frills–
Local 414
★
Sav-a-Centre–
Local 414
★
The Bay/
Zellers–
Local 240
★
Valu-mart–
Local 414
★
Your Independent Grocer -
Local 414
★
PharmaPlus
★
Sears Canada
Health care
★
Cape Breton District Health Authority
★
St. Joseph's Health Care, London–
Local 27
★
Versa Care Homes–
Local 302,
830,
2458
★
London Health Sciences Centre
★
Grand River Hospital–
Local 302
★
Camp Hill Medical Centre, Halifax
★
Extendicare Homes–
Local 302,
830,
1120,
2458
★
Homes for the Aged, Thunder Bay–
Local 229
★
Sault Area Hospitals–
Local 1120
★
Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital–
Local 2458
★
Windsor Regional Hospital–
Local 2458
★
Northwood Care, Halifax
★
St. Joseph's Care Group, Thunder Bay–
Local 27,
229,
598,
1120
General services
★ Montreal-area auto dealerships
★
Allstream (formerly AT&T Canada)
★
Scandinavian Centre (B.C.)
★
McMaster University -
CAW Local 555
★
University of Manitoba
★
University of Windsor–
Local 2458
★
Green Shield Services–
Local 240
★
Windsor Star–
Local 240
Related links
Films and Movies
★ CAW President
Bob White plays a major role in the 1985 documentary film: ''
Final Offer'' by Sturla Gunnarsson & Robert Collision. It's shows the 1984 contract negotiations with General Motors that saw the CAW's birth, and split with the UAW. It's an interesting look at life on the shop floor of a car factory, along with the art of business negotiation.
References
★
The Canadian Auto Workers, , Sam, Gindin, James Lorimer and Company, 1995, ISBN 1-55028-498-3
★
The Break-Up of an International Labour Union:, , John, Holmes, Queen' University, 1990, ISBN 0-88886-265-2
External links
★
Canadian Auto Workers Official Website
★
History of the CAW by Sam Gindin
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