GM picked
by Unifor
as target
company
TORONTO — Unifor an-
nounced that General Motors
(GM) is the target company to set
a pattern agreement in the cur-
rent round of negotiations with
North American automakers.
"Our demand is clear, invest
today to build a future for to-
morrow," said Jerry Dias, Unifor
president.
GM employs 6,600 Unifor
members in Oshawa, Ingersoll
and St. Catharines, Ont., mak-
ing the Impala, Equinox, Buick
Regal, Cadillac XTS and GMC
Terrain, as well as engines, trans-
missions and other components.
Ingersoll CAMI workers —
2,600 members — are not part
of the master agreement, ac-
cording to the union.
About 23,050 Unifor mem-
bers work at all the Detroit-
based companies.
With pattern bargaining, ne-
gotiations focus on one company
to reach an agreement that sets a
standard for the auto industry in
Canada.
Once an agreement with the
target company is ratified by
members, focus in bargaining
shifts to a second company and
then the third.
Unifor's current contract ex-
pires at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 19.
The autoworkers previously vot-
ed to give bargaining commit-
tees authorization to call a strike
if necessary.
Unifor is Canada's largest
private-sector union, represent-
ing more than 310,000 workers,
including 23,050 at the Detroit
Three.
Contract
talks between
Moose Jaw,
CUPE Local 9
at standstill
MOOSE JAW, SASK. — The
City of Moose Jaw, Sask., has
walked away from the concilia-
tion process and said it has fin-
ished bargaining, according to
the union.
"If the employer would be pre-
pared to return to conciliation
and bargain in good faith, the
union would be prepared to do so
as well," said Stacey Landin, presi-
dent of Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE) Local 9.
In response, the provincially-
appointed conciliator told the
minister that he was unable to
reach a deal.
The city's consultant, Bill
Humeny, said he will not move
off the employer's proposal for
standby or its proposal to re-
move sufficient ability from the
posting language, said the union.
"The only options the city is
putting forward are mandatory
standby or contracting out the
work of the bargaining unit. Nei-
ther of these are acceptable op-
tions," said Landin.
The other major concession
the city is seeking is on sufficient
ability language, said the union.
The employer's application to
amend the certification order to
remove supervisory members
from the bargaining unit is in the
hands of the Labour Relations
Board. Neither side is in a legal
position to take job action or
lock out workers.
LABOUR BRIEFS
2
Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016
FORMERLY CLV REPORTS
Serving labour relations professionals
since 1956
www.labour-reporter.com
Published weekly by omson Reuters
Canada Ltd.
Subscription rate: $595 per year
Customer Service
Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto)
(800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto)
Fax: (416) 298-5106
Email: carswell.customerrelations@
thomsonreuters.com
Website: www.carswell.com
Director, Carswell Media
Karen Lorimer
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Todd Humber
Editor/Supervisor
Sarah Dobson | (416) 649-7896
sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com
News Editor
John Dujay | (416) 298-5129
john.dujay@thomsonreuters.com
Contributing Editor
Jeff rey R. Smith
Marketing Co-ordinator
Keith Fulford | (416) 649-9585
keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com
© 2016 Carswell, a division of omson
Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the written permission of
the publisher.
e publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting or other professional advice. If legal
or other expert assistance is required, the
services of a competent professional should be
sought. e analysis contained herein
represents the opinion of the authors and
should in no way be construed as being either
offi cial or unoffi cial policy of any governmental
body.
ISSN 0045-5113
Publications Registration 2089
Canadian Labour Reporter is part of the
Canadian HR Reporter group of publications.
Visit www.hrreporter.com for more
information.
Labour Reporter
Canadian
www.labour-reporter.com
Photo:
Ajay
Verma
(Reuters)
LABOUR LENS
Nurses shout anti-government slogans during a protest Sept. 2, as part of a nationwide strike in
Chandigarh, India.
