Ford launches compact
car made for India

Erika Kinetz / Associated Press
March 10, 2010

Mumbai, India -- Ford Motor Co. launched its first made-for-India compact car Tuesday, as the U.S. automaker continues its push into fast-growing Asian markets.

The four-door Figo, Italian for "cool," is the Dearborn-based automaker's first car designed -- and priced -- for the mass Indian market.

"Come heat, come dust, come monsoon rains or Delhi traffic, the Figo was born and bred for India," said Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford

As the global auto industry suffers, India has been enjoying an auto boom. An economic rebound, rising incomes and pent-up demand drove car sales to 1,370,659 vehicles from April to February, 25 percent more than during the same period the previous year.

Ford has ramped up investment in China and India, but has been slow to adjust to the proclivities of Indian car-buyers, three-quarters of whom buy super-small, super-affordable cars.

The luxurious sedans Americans favor find little room on India's teeming streets, and they're priced stratospherically out of reach for a nation where the per capita income is about $960.

The Figo is different.

Ford squeezed the car into a tiny frame -- 12.5 feet by 5.5 feet -- to ease its passage through the tide of bullock carts, angry taxis, handcarts, motorbikes and cows that clog city roads.

And they used easy-to-replace components, like bumpers, to handle the unavoidable dents and dings.

"The Figo team went to great lengths to ensure that key components are easily and affordably replaced," Boneham said.

The car also has extra durable lubricating and cooling systems, to deal with India's extreme heat and torrential rains.

But its most Indian feature of all is the price.

Starting at $7,690, the Figo is within reach of "Sandeep," Ford's vision of its archetypal consumer -- a 27-year-old man, recently married and ambitious, with an income of $6,000 to $8,000 a year.

Sandeep may be budget conscious, but he's not without aspirations. Higher-end Figos come with keyless entry and Bluetooth connectivity.

Like other global auto majors, Ford also hopes to turn India into a small car export hub. Boneham said the Figo would first ship to South Africa.

"We'll be adding more markets as people across the region see how cool the Figo really is," he said.

Lawsuits could cost
Toyota $3-billion

CURT ANDERSON and GREG BLUESTEIN

MIAMI — The Associated Press Published on Tuesday, Mar. 09, 2010

Toyota owners claiming that massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet have filed at least 89 class-action lawsuits that could cost the Japanese auto giant $3-billion (U.S..) or more, according to an Associated Press review of cases, legal precedent and interviews with experts.

Those estimates do not include potential payouts for wrongful death and injury lawsuits, which could reach in the tens of millions each. Still, the sheer volume of cases involving U.S. Toyota owners claiming lost value – 6 million or more – could prove far more costly, adding up to losses in the billions for the automaker.

Such class-action lawsuits “are more scary for Toyota than the cases where people actually got injured,” said Tom Baker, a University of Pennsylvania law professor. “A super-big injury case would be $20-million. But you could have millions of individual car owners who could (each) be owed $1,000. If I were Toyota, I'd be more worried about those cases.”

As Toyota continues to deal with the recalls and wavering public confidence in its vehicle safety, its biggest financial fight may be in the courtroom. A key decision could come at a March 25 hearing in San Diego, where a panel of federal judges will consider whether to consolidate the mushrooming cases into a single jurisdiction.

After that, a judge will decide whether all claims filed by Toyota owners nationwide can be combined in a single legal action – known as “certifying a class” – and whether the claims have enough merit to move toward either trial or settlement.

Concealed Problems?

Toyota owners suing the company contend their vehicles have dropped in value because of the recalls and that Toyota knew all along about safety problems but concealed them from buyers. They point to evidence such as Kelley Blue Book's decision this month to lower the resale value of recalled Toyotas an average of 3.5 per cent, ranging from $300 less for a Corolla to $750 less for a Sequoia.

The lawsuits started appearing on state and federal dockets last fall, when Toyota began recalling some 8 million vehicles worldwide because of persistent complaints about sudden unintended acceleration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 52 people have died in accelerator-related crashes.

The AP conducted an extensive review of federal court filings and uncovered a total of 89 class-action lawsuits filed nationwide as of Monday. Toyota attorneys said last week in a court filing that the company is aware of 82 such cases.

One leading attorney in the class-action effort, Northeastern University law professor Tim Howard, said the number of owners claiming economic damages because of the recalls could reach 6 million. If each were awarded $500 – likely a conservative estimate – Toyota would have to fork over $3-billion in economic loss damages alone.

This does not include possible payouts in wrongful death or injury cases as well as lawsuits filed by shareholders claiming losses from share prices that have tumbled more than 16 per cent since January.

Corporations often settle big cases rather than risk an even bigger damage award at a trial.

Previous Cases

Automakers in the past have been forced to pay vehicle owners for lost value because of safety problems. Ford, for example, agreed in 2008 to compensate 800,000 Explorer owners who sued because of rollover dangers. That settlement provided owners only with vouchers of between $300 and $500 to buy new Ford products.

In that case, the lawyers received about $25-million in fees and costs, and the Toyota case could result in a similar windfall for attorneys. A study by the Federal Judicial Centre concluded attorneys in class-action lawsuits typically get fees between 27 per cent and 30 per cent of what they recover in damages – which could reach $1-billion in a $3-billion settlement.

Toyota could end up facing an even bigger payoff if a judge decides attorneys' fees should be added to any plaintiffs' award.

The San Diego hearing will be conducted before the seven-member Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which decides whether similar lawsuits filed in multiple federal districts should be centralized in one location for pretrial motions, hearings and the like. A federal judge would be chosen to determine whether the Toyota cases should be certified as a class action and make other key rulings, such as deciding on a likely Toyota motion to dismiss.

Under federal law, a class action must have 100 or more plaintiffs, damages sought must exceed $5-million and the judge must be persuaded the claims are identical or very similar. If a class is not certified, each lawsuit would have to be pursued on its own.

Quick Fix

Toyota has so far recalled 5.6 million vehicles in the U.S. because of problems caused by what it says are accelerator pedals that become sticky or get trapped under floor mats. Another 437,000 Prius models have been recalled worldwide for what Toyota says is an antilock-braking glitch.

The vast majority of lawsuits claiming economic loss stem from the accelerator problems, and many contend the company's effort to fix floor mats or accelerator pedals are insufficient. Dozens of lawsuits claim Toyota has ignored problems with its electronic throttle system.

Separately, NHTSA is looking into claims from more than 60 Toyota owners that their vehicles continue to surge forward unexpectedly despite having their vehicles repaired.

Toyota has denied that its electronic throttle is to blame and has been focused on dealing with the recalls – a strategy that could affect the outcome of the lawsuits.

“Toyota's strategy (should be) to fix them, fix them immediately and at no cost, and do it as quickly and effectively as you can so after the dust settles, your car's value won't have depreciated much,” said Edward C. Martin, a law professor at Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.

“We do not believe that electronics are at the root of this issue,” Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said Monday.

Consumer Concerns

In some of the lawsuits, Toyota owners seek additional damages because they're afraid to drive what they call “defective and dangerous” cars, while still others claim insurance premiums will likely go up.

“My wife has been worried about it for a while. She's eight months pregnant and she's terrified to drive the car now,” said Jerry Borbon, a Miami lawyer who is still driving his 2008 Toyota Prius and is a plaintiff in a potential class-action lawsuit.

“We thought about trying to get rid of it, but we're stuck with it,” he said, adding Toyota's damaged reputation has made it hard to sell the vehicle. “I don't feel secure in the car and I don't want my wife driving it.”

“There are a lot of unknowns and the big questions are what did Toyota know when,” said Catherine Sharkey, a professor at the New York University School of Law. “If it turns out that Toyota had knowledge of these defects and did not act soon enough, then the best strategy is settlement.”

In a sign of the widespread impact of the recalls, a Los Angeles federal judge who has been assigned many of the potential Toyota class-action cases is concerned his ownership of a Toyota might force him off the cases.

U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz put a one-paragraph statement into the dockets of more than two dozen cases: “The court owns a 2000 Toyota Avalon SLX. In addition, the adult son of the court who has not lived in the court's home for many years owns a 2005 Prius.”

Mr. Matz's statement also asks whether he or his son could be considered plaintiffs if the cases are certified as class actions. If so, the judge would not be able to preside over the cases because of a possible conflict of interest.

GM to reinstate 661 closed dealers

Robert Snell / The Detroit News - March 7, 2010

General Motors Co. has offered to restore more than half of the 1,160 dealers who appealed the automaker's attempts to close them down.

The Detroit automaker said Friday it is sending letters to 661 dealers by Monday night offering to reinstate their stores -- if they comply with standard requirements for facilities, capitalization and inventory financing. The balance of the dealers who have appealed will continue toward arbitration.

Restoring dealers could help GM boost sales by having more outlets buying cars and trucks. Increasing sales and GM's share of the U.S. auto market, is a primary goal of CEO Edward Whitacre Jr.

The move also is GM's bid to end a lingering dispute about the automaker's bankruptcy-related decision to prune its vast U.S. dealer network. The reduction effort spurred retailers to angrily lobby Congress, which passed a law in December giving dealers the right to challenge the decisions.

"This is the end of what has been a really tough time for lots of people inside and outside the company, lots of communities and lots of dealerships," GM North American President Mark Reuss said. "We are looking forward to wiping the slate clean."

Ed Tonkin, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, hailed GM's "good faith effort." We "hope that this carries forward in its continuing settlement and arbitration discussions with the remaining wind-down dealers," he said.

Dealers have 10 days to sign the letters and return them to GM, and 60 days to fulfill the requirements in the letters.

Reuss wouldn't provide a breakdown of the 661 dealers by brand, size or region. When GM thinned its dealer ranks last year, a disproportionate number of Cadillac dealers were targeted, as well as stores in metro areas.

As part of GM's restructuring, the automaker planned to close more than 2,000 dealers by October as it shed four brands and shrank its overall footprint. The automaker said the plan would save $2.5 billion.

Chrysler LLC closed 789 dealers as part of its bankruptcy, and some of those retailers also are appealing. In total, more than 1,300 GM and Chrysler dealers challenged the closing decisions.

The unknown cost to GM of absorbing about 660 dealerships is nominal compared to the potential upside, said analyst Joe Phillippi of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N.J.

"In a lot of markets, GM wants or needs representation if they're going to grow volume and market share," he said. "This may have been a directive from Whitacre saying 'If we want to sell more units and more market share, why are we eliminating all these dealers?' "

Automakers book revenue when vehicles leave the factory bound for dealers, not when they are sold to consumers. Whitacre has said reinstating some dealers would not hurt the company.

Tammy Darvish, vice president of DARCARS Automotive Group in Silver Spring, Md., owns a Chevrolet dealership ordered closed. She said news of the reinstatements means little until dealers know the strings attached.

"They could make it cost-prohibitive or they could set conditions like they need 30-year site control of our properties, which is what Chrysler is doing," said Darvish, who has fought to have dealerships restored nationwide. "It should be as simple as if the dealerships are viable and sustainable, they should be reinstated."

Even with the restored dealerships, GM will have a smaller dealer network than before it filed for bankruptcy last year.

GM has about 5,500 dealerships, down from 6,150 at the end of 2008. That number will fall to about 4,100 this fall once dealerships that were not offered new franchise agreements close or stop selling GM vehicles.

Alan Spitzer, head of the Spitzer Auto Group and co-founder of the Committee to Restore Dealer Rights, praised GM's decision.

"GM is trying to do the right thing," Spitzer said, adding that GM was trying to reduce the amount it would have to spend in hundreds of arbitration panels. Spitzer has filed for 10 separate arbitrations for seven closed Chrysler dealerships and three GM dealerships. Spitzer has dealerships in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The country's auto dealers association says General Motors of Canada should admit its mistakes and reverse plans to close many of its retailers after the company's parent suggested it erred in more than half of the decisions to shut down U.S. stores under a restructuring plan.

Rick Gauthier, president of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, said Friday it's hard to believe that GM made the right decision here in terminating the 240 retailers it targeted for nonrenewal of franchise agreements, in view of a major shift by parent GM.

"They (GM Canada) are not infallible," Gauthier said. "But they have seen fit not to admit they made one mistake regarding a closure here. Yet, the parent company, which dictates policy on the Canadian arm, is admitting it probably got it wrong 50 per cent of the time."

Parent GM announced earlier in the day it will reinstate 661 dealers out of 1,100 it slated for closing in the U.S. last year as part of a survival plan to become profitable again.

The move came after the U.S. government mandated arbitration in December for GM dealers the company had pegged for closing. But Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, said GM planned to contact dealers to discuss settling outside of arbitration to avoid the time and cost.

The company will start sending letters of intent to dealers and if they meet requirements, factory deliveries would resume.

In Canada, GM offered "wind-down" agreements for a short time to targeted dealers that partly compensated them for the loss of franchises. If they didn't accept the terms and close their stores by the end of 2009, the company said it would not renew agreements when they expire this October.

GM said it needed to slash its dealer networks in both countries as part of restructuring plans so the struggling automaker could qualify for government aid.

Most dealers accepted the wind-down agreements, but two groups have sued GM for damages and renewal of their franchises.

GM of Canada says 26 dealers sought and received management reviews, but the company still needs to finish assessments.

"There have been no reversals to date," said GM communications director Tony LaRocca.

He noted processes to resolve disputes in the two countries are like "comparing apples to oranges."

Gauthier said the association is critical of the management reviews for lack of transparency and fairness. The arbitration process also limits what dealers can gain and forces them to individually contest a major corporation with vast financial resources, he added.

In the U.S., GM gained court protection from creditors, which lifted many obligations to dealers, but Gauthier said the company is now honouring them. In Canada, dealers helped GM avert court protection but they now can't get fair treatment, he noted.

"GM owes it to its dealers to inject some element of fairness in its review process," said Gauthier, who represents about 3,400 dealers with numerous manufacturers.

He said GM Canada should also give dealers who accepted wind-down agreements a "fair hearing."

A group of 19 dealers that didn't sign the wind-down agreements sued GM of Canada last November for millions of dollars in damages and an injunction to remain open for at least another five years. They alleged GM effectively ended their franchise agreements in a "high-handed, oppressive and patently unfair" manner.

GM, which is asking the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to move the case to the dealer arbitration program, said in its statement of defence it dealt with store owners "in good faith and has made significant efforts to ensure the smoothest transition and wind-down of operations possible for them under difficult circumstances."

Panel head under fire
over Toyota documents

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
March 5, 2010

Allegations that Toyota Motor Corp. tried to hide vehicle defects aren't new: Former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller has claimed for months that he had documents to prove it -- but was prevented by a court from revealing them.

Last week, the public got its first glimpse of Biller's documents, which were subpoenaed by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and briefly posted on its Web site by Chairman Ed Towns, D-N.Y.

They seemed deeply damaging to Toyota at first glance. But they were quickly taken off the site, and Towns is now under fire from members of his committee for his handling of the affair.

In addition to posting the documents, Towns wrote to a senior Toyota official on Feb. 26 demanding an explanation for the documents, which, he said, "indicate Toyota deliberately withheld records" that it was required to share with plaintiffs in civil suits.

Towns' letter, which was made public, contained excerpts from the documents to back up his assertions.

This week, Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the ranking Republican on the House committee, said his staff discovered "factual misrepresentations" in Towns' letter to Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota Motor North America.

For instance, Towns cites a memo Biller wrote on Dec. 6, 2006, suggesting that Toyota preferred to settle cases rather than disclose information it kept in so-called "Books of Knowledge."

Towns quotes Biller as saying: "TMS [Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.] conclude that it would be better to pay a premium to settle this case and avoid producing the 'Books of Knowledge.' "

But Issa's staff said Towns left out a crucial part of the sentence. The full sentence is: "TMS [Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.] conclude that it would be better to pay a premium to settle this case and avoid producing the 'Books of Knowledge' before Toyota and its counsel had an opportunity to inspect those materials."

Issa's staff also found that the phrase "sudden unintended acceleration" had been injected into a passage that referred to a suit alleging transmission problems.

In addition, Issa noted that a Texas plaintiff lawyer, E. Todd Tracy, reviewed the Biller documents in connection to 17 cases that he had reopened on the basis of Biller's allegations.

"After reviewing the documents, in December 2009, he concluded that: 'I did not see any type of concealment, destruction, or pattern of discovery abuse' and that 'I believe Biller, in his own mind, probably thinks there's something there. But the documents just don't support it,' " Issa quoted Tracy as saying.

A House committee spokeswoman said Issa's complaints were beside the point. "Mr. Issa's comments do not address the central issue -- has Toyota been illegally withholding documents for years," said Jenny Rosenberg.

Biller, who worked for Toyota from 2003 until 2007, is suing Toyota, claiming wrongful termination and emotional distress. He also alleges racketeering at the Japanese automaker.

"Biller continues to make inaccurate and misleading allegations about Toyota's conduct that we strongly dispute and will continue to fight against vigorously," said Toyota spokeswoman Martha Voss.

Toyota sued Biller in 2008 to stop him from using confidential material. It argued successfully that Biller violated a $3.7 million settlement by retaining his files.

This month, an arbitrator in the lawsuit blocked Biller from disclosing internal company documents, but the House Oversight Committee's subpoena superseded the other rulings.

The committee dispute also reflects partisan strains.

"I am concerned that sending this letter without consultation with the minority and its misleading content sheds a negative light on what has otherwise been a successful bipartisan effort," Issa wrote.

CAW CONTACT
Volume 40, No. 9 – March 5, 2010

Community Forums Highlight Need for Pension Reform

Thousands of retirees, union members and activists have taken part in recent pension forums held in communities across Ontario and Manitoba.

Retirees have outlined fear of their pensions being cut because of insolvent or bankrupt employers, while active workers have expressed deep concern about the security of their pensions when they reach retirement.

Federal and provincial politicians have been invited to these community forums with a number of NDP and Liberal politicians attending. No Conservatives attended the forums held in Brampton, Toronto, Oshawa, Sudbury, London, Winnipeg or Brandon. Others are scheduled.

CAW President Ken Lewenza said the community forums, organized in conjunction with the Canadian Labour Congress, highlight the immediate need to fight for pension reform for all Canadians.

“More than 60 per cent of Canadians don’t have a private pension plan, so we need to work hard to reform both the private pension system and also the Canada Pension Plan,” Lewenza said. “We’re determined to build a better pension system for all workers.”

“We need both the federal government and provincial politicians to understand how concerned those retirees, their families and active workers who are looking ahead to retirement are about this issue,” said Jenny Ahn, CAW director of membership mobilization and campaigns.

One of the keys to creating more pension security is reform of the CPP, said Ahn. Here are some priorities raised in the community forums:

- Double benefits for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) over a seven-year period. This would increase CPP earnings to a maximum of $1,635 per month;

- Increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) to Old Age Security pensions;

- Introduce a federal system of pension insurance. This would protect pensions to a maximum of $2,500 a month when an employer enters bankruptcy proceedings and cannot pay out pension benefits. The insurance system would also adopt pension plans when an employer declares bankruptcy and shuts down permanently.

For more information on the pension forums or to find one in your area, please visit: www.caw.ca/en/7978.htm.

Workers Reject Concession Demands At Westcast

CAW Local 504 members who work at auto parts maker Westcast Industries in Strathroy, Ontario have rejected a company offer loaded with concession demands.

The CAW and company had been in contract talks since mid-December when the company presented a final offer on February 18 that included more than $10 per hour in wage, benefit and pension cuts. It also introduced a two-tier wage system for new hires and a $1000 signing bonus.

Workers voted 75 per cent against the company offer. The existing collective agreement has been extended for one month.

CAW Local 504 President Randy Smith said “that the workers have voted and clearly want our CAW bargaining committee to renew talks with the company. It’s time the company got back to the bargaining table and negotiated a fair and equitable settlement.”  

There are 75 active workers at the plant, located northwest of London, Ontario. The workers produce exhaust manifolds. Three years ago the plant had 250 workers.

CAW Calls for Job Investments and Income Supports for Unemployed and Pensioners

CAW President Ken Lewenza called for job creation to be a central part of the March 4 federal budget, especially in developing and promoting clean energy sources, greener infrastructure and manufacturing.

This budget needs to take major steps to better position the country and the economy to deal with climate change and its impact on jobs, said Lewenza. “Our country has an important opportunity to become a leader in green technology, which would deliver a badly needed economic boost. Instead though, as we saw during the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen, our government is content to let the country stagnate and pull Canadians back when we want to move forward.”

In a news release prior to the budget, Lewenza said that part of a longer term economic plan must include reducing the country’s reliance on the tar sands as an economic driver - widely recognized as an environmental catastrophe.

The country has high expectations of the upcoming federal budget, given that it took the government more than two months off to write it, said Lewenza.

“We need a budget that invests in Canadians and our future,” said Lewenza. This should include an indication the government intends to address the looming pension crisis, along with the provinces, as well as income and training supports for workers who have lost their jobs.

Approximately 500,000 unemployed Canadians will lose their Employment Insurance benefits in the months to come. Lewenza called for an extension of EI benefits and improving the qualifying rules, so that more workers are covered by EI, instead of falling through the cracks in the country’s social safety net.

Lewenza also cautioned against cutting programs and public services when the country is only beginning to recover from the recession, and only in some regions. “Conservative-leaning critics would have us believe that paying down the deficit must be the number one priority of the government. But Canadians understand that the deficit cannot be reduced if massive unemployment and underemployment continues.”

Alternative Federal Budget Targets Job Creation

Putting Canadians back to work is the best way to balance the federal government's budget. That's the key message of the Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) project, recently released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The AFB is produced each year by a broad coalition of community, labour, and environmental organizations, including the CAW. This year's AFB, recognizing the continuing crisis in Canada's labour market, urged federal support to create and maintain 330,000 jobs, and to get the unemployment rate back down to pre-recession levels by 2011. Its ambitious job-creation strategy includes support for manufacturing, job-creating environmental investments, and a dramatic improvement in EI qualifying rules (to help the more than 1 million unemployed Canadians who don't qualify for benefits).

By creating new jobs, the AFB strategy actually generates more government revenues that helps to bring down the government deficit. Under the AFB plan, the federal debt burden starts shrinking (as a share of GDP) by 2011.

Full details of this year's AFB are available at www.policyalternatives.ca

Cut Search and Rescue Response Times, FFAW Urges

FFAW/CAW President Earle McCurdy says an Inquiry Commissioner’s decision to reduce response times for rescue helicopters in Newfoundland’s offshore oil industry highlight the inadequacy of federal government search and rescue services.

McCurdy praised Commissioner Robert Wells’ recent recommendation that response times for rescue helicopters in the offshore oil industry be reduced from the current one hour to 15-20 minutes to get in the air.

The federal government must adopt the same response time for its search and rescue service covering fishermen and others in the North Atlantic, he said.

The current search and rescue response standard is 30 minutes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, which increases to two hours response time in other hours.

“Every minute counts during an emergency at sea,” McCurdy said. “The North Atlantic is a harsh environment and our members who work in that environment deserve emergency response times that are second to none. Surely the lives of fish harvesters are worth no less than those of offshore oil workers,” McCurdy said.

Since the offshore oil industry began off Newfoundland, more fish harvesters have lost their lives at sea than the combined total of the Ocean Ranger disaster in 1982 and the Cougar helicopter tragedy in 2009.

McCurdy said he fully supports Commissioner Wells’ recommendation and the efforts of offshore oil workers, their union and families to improve response times. He said offshore oil workers deserve the best service that can be provided and that fish harvesters deserve no less.

The FFAW/CAW has about 15,000 members in Newfoundland and Labrador of which about 8,000 are fish harvesters.

Rich Northern Nations Must Pay Down Climate Debt, Urges Klein
Climate change is tantamount to a silent war being waged by the rich against the poor, says Naomi Klein. "Twenty per caent of the world's population is responsible for 76-80 per cent of historic emissions," Klein told the hundreds of people packed into a Toronto community church.

Klein's speech was the first of the David Lewis lecture series, sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on Feburary 25. In her speech, she addressed the issue of climate debt, namely the idea that rich countries should pay reparations to poor countries for the climate crisis and the severe damage it is causing.

Klein urged a return to the sense of historical responsibility, which was a key part of the Kyoto Accord, recognizing that rich countries have been responsible for high levels of carbon in the atmosphere, brought about through unsustainable industrialization and over-consumption.
To underline this point, Klein quoted Bolivia President Evo Morales, who said, "the earth does not have enough for the North to live better and better, but it does have enough for us alal to live well."

David Lewis (1909-1981) was a leading labour lawyer, life-long social democrat, a founder of the NDP and its national leader from 1970 to 1975. The lecture series will focus on issues of social democracy, organized labour, and income inequality. To watch the entire speech, please visit: http://www.rabble.ca/rabbletv/program-guide/2010/03/features/naomi-klein-speaks-climate-debt-torontoPhoto: Mark Knudsen/Klimaforum09.

Ontario to Invest $81 million in Ford Essex Engine 
The government of Ontario announced it would invest up to $81 million in the Ford Essex Engine plant in Windsor, ON. The announcement came from Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello, minister of economic development and trade on February 26. This means that several hundred laid off workers will be recalled. The workers are represented by CAW Local 200.
The new investment is in addition to an earlier $168 million investment by the province, $80 million from the federal government and $590 million from Ford, all of which helped re-open the shuttered plant.  Photo: L-R Ford Windsor Site Operations Manager Alexandria Maciag, President of CAW Local 200 Dan Cassady, Windsor West MPP/Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sandra Pupatello, CAW National President Ken Lewenza, Windsor/Tecumseh MPP/Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan and Ford Vice President of North American Manufacturing Operations Jim Tetreault. 

Airline Workers’ Voices Must be Heard on Canada-EU Deal

A coalition of Canadian and European air transport unions has issued a joint call to government officials demanding airline workers voices are heard on issues impacting employment under the new Canada-EU Air Transport Agreement, signed on December 18 2009.

In a February 10 letter addressed to chief negotiators Rob Ready (Canada) and Philippe Burghelle Vernet (European Union), Coalition members including the CAW demanded that civil aviation unions in each country be treated as stakeholders in ongoing joint committee work on issues relevant to employment and the working conditions of air transport employees.

“Airline workers in Canada have been effectively shut out of the negotiation process, even though they stand to suffer most from this deal,” said Peggy Nash, Assistant to the CAW President. “Workers’ voices must be heard when the Joint Committee first sits in April.”

The Air Transport Agreement establishes a framework aimed at deregulating air travel between Canada and the 27-member EU state, including unrestricted access to both international and regional routes, abolishing limits on foreign ownership requirements and eroding workplace wage and benefit standards. The deal builds on similar ‘Open Skies’ agreements signed by Canada over the years, including a landmark 1995 agreement with the United States.

Open Skies agreements have been a key policy plank in successive governments’ push to deregulate the Canadian air transport industry, which first gained traction under Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1984. Deregulation has contributed to the destabilization of the airline industry (over 25 airline bankruptcies in Canada alone), massive job losses and a deterioration of workplace standards.

For more information, visit: http://www.caw2002tca.ca/

Investment in Halifax Shipyard Creates New Jobs

The Nova Scotia government’s decision to invest $20 million to modernize the Halifax shipyard will create jobs for marine workers and ensure the yard can successfully bid on future contracts, CAW Atlantic area director Les Holloway says.

“This is a tremendous step forward for marine workers and the local community that is the result of many years of hard work and the establishment of the CAW’s shipbuilding campaign, which for years highlighted the importance of reinvigorating the Canadian shipbuilding industry,” said Holloway.

Premier Darrell Dexter said the investment in the Irving owned yard is a repayable loan that will help secure a stronger future. New investment in wharves, cranes, fabrication areas and office upgrades will provide jobs for workers and suppliers across the province.

“This investment will not only improve infrastructure at the shipyard and create jobs during construction, it will help the shipyard modernize its facility so it will stay competitive and able to bid on more contracts in the future,” Dexter said February 25.

“On behalf of the members of Local 1, I want to thank the province for its support of these important improvements,” said Karl Risser, President of CAW/Marine Workers Federation Local 1. “There are many of us whose roots go deep at this shipyard and this news is the best signal to the next generations of shipyard workers.”
In the fall of 2009, the Halifax Shipyard landed a contract worth $219 million to build nine mid-shore patrol vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard.
EDUCATION UPDATE!                                                                 
New in Education – Building Strong Local Unions!

Having a strong local union is important in fighting back against some of the challenges currently facing CAW members across the country.

In this week-long program offered at the CAW’s Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, Ontario a series of new and innovative approaches will be used to explore what makes a local union strong. We’ll consider leadership, activism, membership engagement and building strong community links. We’ll also look at the role technology can play in communication with members and our work on campaigns through hands-on activities.

This program uses new approaches to education that are designed to engage, challenge, motivate, inspire and educate new as well as seasoned activists, standing committee members and elected leadership – anyone who has an interest and commitment to strengthening their local union.

The next two offerings are: April 11-16 and June 20-25. Registration can be made directly through the Family Education Centre. For more information about the course contact CAW National Representative Kim Yardy at: kim.yardy@caw.ca or 1-800-268-5763 ext 6550.

Toyota recall issues persist

Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Marc 4, 2010

U.S. safety regulators are looking into fresh complaints from a few Toyota owners reporting unintended acceleration of recalled vehicles that were just repaired.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it had identified 10 post-recall allegations of unintended acceleration in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles.

NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said the agency was looking into the reports and trying "to get to the bottom of the problem and to make sure Toyota is doing everything possible to make its vehicles safe."

"If Toyota owners are still experiencing sudden acceleration incidents after taking their cars to the dealership, we want to know about it," he said in a statement.

Toyota dealers have repaired 1 million of the 5.3 million vehicles recalled in the U.S. to prevent unintended acceleration.

But concerns linger whether Toyota's fixes eliminate the risk. Dealers are shortening and redesigning the gas pedal and adjusting the floor to prevent loose floor mats or other materials from jamming the accelerator pedal. The remedy includes the installation of a fail-safe measure, a brake override feature.

On Tuesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood rejected allegations that the remedies approved by NHTSA didn't get to the heart of the problem.

"We know from our investigations that the floor mat is a problem," he told the Senate Commerce Committee. "We know the sticky pedal is a problem," he said, referring to a separate recall to fix faulty pedals that can be slow to return and get stuck.

NHTSA has linked 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by unintended acceleration of Toyota vehicles since 2000.

Toyota had no immediate comment on the new complaints.

In one incident reported by the Associated Press, Stewart Stogel, 49, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., said his 2009 Camry accelerated to about 15 mph on a street near his home on Saturday, five days after a dealership trimmed the gas pedal and installed new brake override software.

The car didn't stop for several seconds even though he pressed on the brakes. Stogel said he barely avoided a wall and nearly went down an embankment.

Stogel called his dealer, who told him to return with the car so that Toyota engineers could inspect it.

The recalls and safety concerns have taken a toll on Toyota sales, which fell 8.7 percent in February.

Toyota is offering repeat buyers two years of free maintenance to bolster customer loyalty.

Ford takes car sales crown,
rivals struggle to keep pace

March 3, 2010

As Ford Motor Co. roared into first place in the auto sales race in North America, General Motors Co. overhauled its sales and marketing operations in an effort to speed up its transformation into a leaner, more nimble competitor.

Ford rode to the front in both Canada and the U.S. in February with gains of 51 per cent and 43 per cent respectively in each country (year-over-year), while GM posted an 11-per-cent U.S. increase that had its North American president demanding the company shift into a higher gear.

“I don't think we're moving far enough, fast enough,” GM president Mark Reuss said on a conference call about the marketing and sales shakeup. “We've got good product here and we've got to start selling them.”

The marketing and sales shuffle included the appointment of a new president of General Motors of Canada Ltd. Kevin Williams, who had been heading GM's parts and service operations, will replace Arturo Elias, president of GM Canada since August, 2006, who will take on a public policy job for GM in Washington.

The February sales results show that even as the industry is slowly recovering from the crisis that sent two of the largest Detroit auto makers into bankruptcy protection last year, it is still being battered by surprise shocks.

Last month, those shocks were both hot and cold: The firestorm of negative publicity raging around Toyota Motor Corp. hurt overall sales and so did the fierce snowstorms that battered the U.S. Northeast.

“We're at the beginning of a recovery,” said George Magliano, director of North American automotive research for HIS Global Insight in New York.

“It's a slow recovery, but it is a recovery.”

U.S. sales hit an annualized rate of about 10.4 million, down from the January pace of 10.8 million but substantially better than the rate of about 9.5 million in February, 2009, a month when both General Motors and Chrysler LLC were careening toward bankruptcy protection.

The ability of both of those auto makers to pay off more than $75-billion (U.S.) worth of taxpayer loans from the Canadian and U.S. governments that bailed them out, and when they're able to do so, depends on the pace of the recovery.

Ford grabbed the top spot in the U.S. for the first time in 12 years, when 1998 strikes at two U.S. GM parts plants shut down most of GM's North American operations for two months.

In Canada, Ford not only outsold GM in February, but grabbed first place in the year-to-date standings.

Chrysler Canada Inc., also surpassed GM in February to stand second.

The gains of 51 per cent at Ford, 17 per cent at Chrysler and 22 per cent at GM in Canada were part of a 25-per-cent jump overall in Canada.

The Canadian new-vehicle market outperformed its U.S. counterpart – as it has done since the industry first went into a tailspin in 2008.

Toyota Canada Inc. (TM-N74.420.781.06%) matched the overall Canadian market with a 25-per-cent bounce, an indication that it may have sustained less damage from the recall crisis than its U.S. cousin, which reported a 9-per-cent drop.

“I'm surprised that we sold as many vehicles as we did,” said Bob Carter, vice-president of Toyota Motor Sales USA.

Toyota unveiled a hefty incentive program in Canada and the United States yesterday that includes interest-free loans for up to five years.

Other auto makers reported positive and negative effects in February from the Toyota situation. They picked up some business, but noted that some potential Toyota buyers sat on the sidelines, hurting overall sales.

Sales in the U.S. market could have been as high as 11.2 million on an annualized basis without the Toyota recall and the snowstorms, said Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of global markets and industry analysis for GM.

“Three-and-a-half feet of snow on these cars, it took our dealers a bit of time here to get that snow off there and to get customers back into the showroom,” added Susan Docherty, who was GM's vice-president of sales and marketing during a morning conference call, but vice-president of marketing only when the management shuffle was announced yesterday afternoon.

Ford foresees electric,
hybrid car sales jolt

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
March 2, 2010

Dearborn -- Ford Motor Co. says hybrids and other electric vehicles will account for as much as 25 percent of its global vehicle sales by 2020.

Ford will take another big step toward that goal today at the Geneva Motor Show, where it is expected to announce that it will bring two new hybrids, a plug-in hybrid and two all-electric vehicles to Europe by 2013.

These will be the same vehicles Ford has promised to deliver to U.S. showrooms by 2012. The Europeans will get them six to 12 months later.

As in the United States, the first one will be a battery-powered version of the Ford Transit Connect Electric, which will be available to commercial customers in Europe next year.

"There is no question in our mind at this point that oil, as the only alternative for our vehicles, is not a good business strategy," said Nancy Gioia, Ford's director of global electrification. "Around the world by 2020, we see 10 to 25 percent of the Ford fleet electrified."

Gioia said most of these vehicles will be hybrids, which she expects will account for about 70 percent of that mix. About 20 percent will be plug-in hybrids.

Gioia stressed that these are rough estimates and said Ford's global vehicle strategy will allow the automaker to increase or decrease output of all three as the market dictates.

Ford set to show off Focus wagon

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
March 2, 2010

Dearborn --Ford Motor Co. is scheduled to unveil yet another version of its new Ford Focus compact today at the Geneva Motor Show -- this time, a wagon.

The Focus wagon will go on sale next year in Europe, where it is expected to be a big seller. However, the Dearborn automaker is not planning to bring it to the United States.

However, Ford's head of global product development, Derrick Kuzak, told reporters in Geneva that his company will produce a global performance version of the Focus powered by a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine.

The Focus wagon is the fifth vehicle Ford has revealed that will be built on its new global C-car platform, an architecture the company says will provide the underpinnings for at least 10 vehicles worldwide and account for 2 million units annually by 2012. The company has already unveiled the new Ford C-Max and Grand C-Max and four- and five-door versions of the new Focus. All but the C-Max will be sold in the United States.

"A key strength of the Ford Focus range in Europe has always been its wagon, and its popularity is second only to the five-door," said Ford of Europe CEO John Fleming. "These customers want the extra space and flexibility a traditional wagon provides, yet they still expect all of the technology, great driving dynamics and superb styling. We believe the new Focus wagon will more than satisfy their requirements in every way."

About 30 percent of the Focuses Ford sells in Europe today are wagons. In Germany and Italy, that figure is closer to 50 percent.

However, Frank Davis, executive director North American product programs, said the Focus wagon has not sold well in the United States in the past, but added that Ford has the capacity to produce the vehicle at its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne. A Focus wagon is not sold in the U.S. now.

Still to come is a compact sport utility vehicle based on the same platform.

"As the segment develops around the world, we see clear preferences among customers for the six main body styles, with variations by region and even within a region," Kuzak said. "For example, the preferred body style in China and Russia is the four-door sedan, while in Britain and Spain, the five-door is most popular, and we believe there is also a customer trend toward five-door small cars in North America."

GM to recall 1.3M vehicles for power steering fix

Nathan Hurst / Detroit News Washington Bureau
March 2, 2010

Washington -- General Motors will recall 1.3 million compact vehicles to correct a power steering problem, the company announced late Monday.

GM plans to replace defective power steering motors that are prone to failure, but an exact fix for the affected cars isn't yet ready; customers will be notified when one is, and company officials say the cars can be safely driven until a fix is prepared.

"While greater steering effort under 15 mph may be required, these vehicles are safe to drive because the customer can still steer the vehicle," Jamie Hresko, GM's vice president of quality, said in a statement.

"When the condition occurs, both a chime will sound and a 'Power Steering' message will be displayed."

GM's announcement comes on the heels of a troubling series of recalls by Japanese rival Toyota Motor Co. following numerous complaints of unintended acceleration and braking issues.

All told, Toyota has issued recalls for more than 8.5 million vehicles, more than 6 million of them in the U.S. alone.

GM's recall, while smaller in scale than Toyota's, extends beyond earlier problems report by federal auto safety regulators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a preliminary investigation in late January into more than 905,000 Chevy Cobalts. The agency acted after receiving more than 1,100 complaints from consumers related to power steering failures.

In addition to the 2005-2010 Cobalts, GM is recalling 2007-2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuit models, sold in Canada, and the 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4, sold in Mexico.

NHTSA records show 14 crashes have resulted due to power steering failures, with one injury reported; a formal investigation was announced in early February.

"After our in-depth investigation, we found that this is a condition that takes time to develop. It tends to occur in older models out of warranty," said Hresko, the GM quality executive. "Recalling these vehicles is the right thing to do for our customers' peace of mind."

The automaker will fix older models first because it usually takes 20,000 to 30,000 miles of driving for the condition to develop.

GM said if the power steering assist fails, it usually comes back for a time after the car is shut off and restarted.

GM spokesman Greg Martin said the recall announcement, which came just hours before a Senate committee was due to begin grilling Toyota executives for the third time in a week over that company's own safety and quality woes, wasn't connected to comments made last week at a House committee hearing on the Toyota recalls.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood took heat from House members who questioned whether Toyota's popular compact Corolla model, which has also experienced power steering issues, was receiving more attention from safety regulators than GM's Cobalt, despite the American car having generated more consumer complaints.

"The timing of the announcement wasn't connected with any comments made in Congress," Martin said.

Ford: Stock pick of the decade?

David Berman Globe & Mail
February 27, 2010

Oakville's mayor lashes out at
Ford for supporting power plant

TORONTO, Ont. - Ford Canada may be one of Oakville's biggest employers and biggest taxpayers, but that's not enough to stop the town's mayor from lashing out at the automaker.

Ford is leasing land next to its assembly plant at Royal Windsor Drive and the QEW to TransCanada, the company that the province hired to build and operate a 900-megawatt powering generating station.

However, there's a large anti-plant movement that includes the mayor.

Burton told 680News Ford has let its community down.

"They've stabbed this community in the back. Ford posted $2.7-billion in profit from the car business and they're betraying the community that has hosted them for 60 years for $50-million in money from TransCanada," a very angry Burton explained.

"Ford is two-tenths of one per cent of the tax revenue of the town of Oakville. No matter how much their money was I don't see how it could justify releasing the toxic fine particulate matter that this would release," Burton told 680News.

He's so angry with Ford that he's traded in his Ford Edge. He bought the very first Edge to roll off the assembly line in Oakville in 2006. Now he's driving a Mazda Tribute.

Burton will lead a rally at Queen's Park at noon on Tuesday, March 2, hoping to get the attention of Premier Dalton McGuinty. He said the premier is the only one with the power to stop the plant from being built.

He also said this is an issue that affects everyone in the province because the government could decide to put a similar plant anywhere.

"When they're done with this one they've got more to come. Do you want to be the next one. This is power plant poker," Burton said.

TransCanada said the $1.2-billion plant is expected to start generating electricity by 2013.

The company has held open houses to try to assure residents that the plant will be safe and its emissions will be within the acceptable provincial standards

Ford to hire 757 people at
Windsor, Ont., engine plant
with government investment

Ford to invest $155M in
Cleveland Engine Plant

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
February 26, 2010

Ford Motor Co. will invest $155 million in its Cleveland Engine Plant to produce the new 3.7-liter V-6 for the 2011 Ford Mustang.

The move is part of a broader push to introduce nine new engines and transmissions in North America this year. With today's announcement, Ford is two-thirds of the way to its goal -- investing a total of $1.8 billion to build six of those at factories from Mexico to Canada.

• A new 6.2-liter V-8 engine at the company's Romeo Engine Plant in Michigan

• A new 6.7-liter V-8 Power Stroke diesel at the Chihuahua Engine Plant in Mexico

• A new 6-speed transmission at the Sharonville Transmission Plant in Ohio

• A new 5.0-liter V-8 engine at the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, Ontario

• A new 6-speed transmission at the Livonia Transmission Plant in Michigan

Together, these projects are creating 1,260 new jobs, but these are being filled by workers from other idled facilities or who have been laid off.

UAW Anger at Contract
Concessions on the Rise

JOSEPH R. SZCZESNY / DETROIT

A year after the bailout of Chrysler and General Motors by the U.S. Treasury, anger over contract concessions is simmering within the ranks of the United Auto Workers (UAW).

At General Motors, where labor strife has lurked below the surface during much of the company's recent history, workers at five different plants who transferred back to GM from its former subsidiary are frustrated by the company's demands for more concessions. Protests by union members are blocking the contract changes deemed necessary by the company. "In regard to the Delphi plants, discussions between GM and the UAW are still ongoing, so no further details are available at this time," says a GM spokesman.

Much of the opposition is coming from workers from GM plants in Saginaw and Grand Rapids, Mich., and Lockport and Rochester, N.Y., where UAW members say they are being pushed to renegotiate a contract that included concessions they signed only last year, when the plants still belonged to the bankrupt Delphi Corp. "We haven't seen anything in writing yet, but we know they're coming for us again," says a GM worker from Grand Rapids. "We also know they want a 'no strike' clause."
"The membership is screaming 'Hell no!' on this deal," says a GM worker from Rochester. "We will no longer allow them to hold the old 'Do it, or we will close your plant' b.s. over us any longer. Our feeling is basically, Go ahead. They have already taken too much for us to care anymore."

The workers say they have given up cost-of-living allowances, overtime after eight hours in place of wage increases, a holiday, some break time, the jobs bank and education benefits. Entry-level wages have been cut in half, which has translated to even lower production-labor costs. "We will not stand for further concessions negotiated by our representatives," proclaimed a resolution that was turned in for consideration at the UAW convention in June by workers from the Ford assembly plant in Chicago. "I've never seen people so frustrated," says a veteran UAW official in Detroit. "These are hard jobs. You might not lift as much as in the old days, but the intensity has gone way up."

The fight has spilled over into the labor relations at Ford. That company, the healthiest of the domestic carmakers, has traditionally had the best relations with the UAW. But last fall workers at Ford voted down contract changes aimed at erasing the gap in labor rates that had opened up with key competitors, who got additional concessions as they went through bankruptcy. GM's labor costs after bankruptcy have fallen from $72 per hour to about $50 per hour under pressure from the Treasury. Ford's hover around $55 per hour after recent adjustments, and the gap is a top issue for Ford's management.

In addition, Ford workers balked at changes that were pushed in the name of greater efficiency at an assembly plant in Kansas City, Mo. The problems were resolved, according to a Ford spokeswoman. But union members say the tension remains. Ford workers also protested plans to give merit-pay increases (which go against the collective-bargaining ethos). Instead, Ford agreed that workers would receive a share of the company's 2009 profits. The payments average $250 per employee for each of Ford's 41,000 workers. A year ago, the union might have been willing to discuss dropping the profit-sharing to protect jobs, but this time it stuck to the letter of the contract.

Officials from the UAW headquarters, in Detroit, have declined to comment on the festering disputes. But critics of the union's leadership acknowledge that there isn't much the union can do to win back lost wages and benefits or even hold the line in the face of new demands for concessions, given the steady decline of organized labor across the automotive sector.

CAW CONTACT
Volume 40, No. 8 –
February 26 , 2010

Supreme Court Rules on Giant Mine Dispute

The Supreme Court of Canada's ruling with respect to the law suit concerning the 1992 Giant Mine explosion in Yellowknife makes several important clarifications on union status and union liability for members' actions during a labour dispute. The explosion took nine lives.

The Court released a ruling February 18 that overturned a multi-million dollar trial court award for the widows of nine replacement workers who were killed by an underground explosion. In 1995 striking miner Roger Warren was convicted of nine counts of murder and is serving a life sentence.

In 2004, the lower court ordered the Government of the Northwest Territories, security company Pinkerton's of Canada and the CAW to pay over $18 million in compensation to the widows. An appeal court overturned that decision and the award. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court.

CAW Legal Department director Lewis Gottheil said the detailed ruling by the Supreme Court clarifies several important points of law regarding national unions, local unions and the actions of members. This ruling has important implications that apply across the labour movement in Canada, Gottheil said.

"The court has clarified that a national union and a local union are distinct legal entities which are not generally liable at law for the actions of the other," Gottheil said.

"Also the Supreme Court has indicated that the legal concept of vicarious liability doesn't apply to unions in a situation where a "rogue" member in the course of a labour dispute commits an unlawful act," said Gottheil. "In other words, the fact that Roger Warren was a unionized worker on strike did not make his union responsible for the actions he took."

To read the full Supreme Court ruling online go to http://csc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/index.html and read the citation for Fullowka v. Pinkerton's of Canada Ltd.  

Protection for Precarious Workers in New Brunswick

The government of New Brunswick has introduced new legislation that aims to improve working conditions and employment security for thousands of casual and part-time public service workers.

Bill 35, introduced on February 16, will amend the province's Public Service Labour Relations Act to allow civil servants in both casual and part-time positions to join a union immediately after being hired. The new legislation also guarantees wages and provides recall rights to these workers.

Currently, civil servants in the province must wait six months before gaining access to union rights, which includes collective bargaining and access to a formal grievance procedure. In many cases, employees would be laid off before they reached the qualifying date for unionization. Some have been unable to gain access to union protection for years.

This move is a major victory for labour unions in New Brunswick and is an important step forward to combating the rise of precarious work in Canada, said CAW Atlantic Canada Director Les Holloway.

Holloway said the new legislation is a testament to the hard work and determination of provincial labour unions for nearly two decades. A group of public and private sector unions in the province mounted a court case in 2007 challenging the government's decision to exclude casual workers from its definition of "employee" under the Public Service Labour Relations Act.

“We now need to ensure that an equally urgent solution be found for the rise in precarious work in the private sector,” said Holloway. 

The new legislation is expected to come into force in June.

Reality Check on Women's Equality

Labour and women's groups have issued a report which they say is a "reality check" describing Canada's lagging performance in achieving women's equality. The report will be used at the Beijing +15 meeting at the United Nations in New York, March 1-12.

"Canadian women have lost ground in many areas in the past 15 years," said Barbara Byers, Canadian Labour Congress Executive Vice President. "Our government has sent a report to the United Nations that paints a rosy picture on women's equality in Canada. We have written our own document and it is a reality check on what the government is saying."

The UN meeting in March will evaluate progress, identify challenges, and recommend policies to promote gender equality and the advancement of women. This year holds special significance because it marks the 15th anniversary of the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women.

"Although Canada has made commitments to implement equal pay for work of equal value, the federal government hasn't lived up to these commitments,” said CAW Director of Women’s Programs Julie White. “This issue will be front and centre for us next week at the UN.” White will be attending the UN meeting as part of a labour delegation organized through the CLC.

Kate McInturff, Executive Director of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA), said, "Five years ago, Canada was ranked amongst the top ten countries in the world for its achievements in women's human rights; in 2009 Canada had fallen to 73rd in the UN Gender Disparity Index.” 

The joint report is called Reality Check: Women in Canada and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action Fifteen Years On, A Canadian Civil Society Response. To read the full report, please visit: http://www.caw.ca/en/8601.htm

Talks Break Off Between CAW/FFAW and OCI

The CAW/FFAW has applied for conciliation after contract talks between the union and Ocean Choice International broke off February 18 in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

CAW/FFAW Chief Industrial Negotiator Ben Baker said the talks with Ocean Choice International (OCI) were bogged down by concession demands by the fish processing company.
“We’ve been in negotiations for the past two days and, quite frankly, talks have not gone very well to this point because the company came in looking for concessions in a number of key areas,” Baker said in a February 18 release. “We’ve applied for conciliation so we’ll be waiting for a conciliator to be appointed and talks will resume once that’s done.”
The talks affect approximately 1,500 workers at OCI fish processing facilities located in communities throughout Newfoundland.
CAW Team Wins People's Choice Chili Contest 
CAW team 'Local Flavour' won the People's Choice award at the fourth annual St. Catharines Community Care Chili Cooking Contest. Using a recipe for 'Niagara Maple Chili', the CAW Local 199 team won rave reviews. More than 500 Niagara area residents turned out to sample the 20 different chili recipes, which brought in more than $4,600 for Community Care.
Niagara Maple Chili features local ingredients such as beef, pork, sausage, tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, Niagara's Best Brewery dark beer, maple syrup and applies. While spices and beans were imported, the chili had at least 90 per cent Niagara, Ontario content.
The recipes and competitors entered in the cook-off were varied with teams from culinary schools, high schools, restaurants, fire fighters, Niagara Parks and the CAW.
Karen Golob, John Neely and Doris Maxwell hold some of the local produce/ingredients used to make the Chili. Picture taken by Peter Scott Team 'Local Flavour' captain.

CALM/LABOUR TECH Conference  
Want to find new ways of reaching out to members?
Check out two great training conferences for labour communicators and networkers – Windsor, Ontario, May 13-16.

CALM May 13-15 www.calm.ca
LabourTech May 14-16 www.labourtech.ca

Toyota executives' testimony
comes off as clueless

Daniel Howes Feb 25, 2010

Akio Toyoda's story doesn't add up.

The president of Toyota Motor Corp., the centrally controlled behemoth founded 73 years ago by his grandfather, told a congressional committee Wednesday that he didn't know about mounting sudden-acceleration complaints with Toyota vehicles until late last year.

He also didn't know the substance of a corporate briefing paper prepared in July that touted $100 million in savings on recalls, warned about sudden acceleration complaints in Toyota and Lexus models and described a federal bureaucracy that is not "industry-friendly."

But now, faced with a global brand and P.R. fiasco, Toyoda knows with "absolute certainty" that the sudden unintended acceleration complaints tied to 34 deaths and the recall of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide cannot be attributed to electronic throttle controls in Toyota and Lexus cars and trucks.

Really?

The assurances might be more convincing -- to Congress, to consumers, to dealers and to suppliers in the United States -- if the Japanese automaker moved sooner than earlier this month to commission an independent review of its electronic conclusions. But it didn't.

They might be more persuasive if the firm hired to do the testing, California-based Exponent Inc., didn't have ties to Toyota's legal counsel; if contacts on the issue between Toyota and U.S. regulators weren't so extensive; if Toyota's top American executive in the United States, James Lentz, hadn't testified the day before that Toyota's fixes had "not totally" fixed the problem.

Simple question, Toyoda-san: If the electronic throttle control isn't (with "absolute certainty") the problem and if the planned fixes aren't sufficient, what is?

The hearings over the past two days are remarkable for what they didn't yield -- namely, definitive answers. But we do know now how little the top executives in the most revered automaker on the planet seem to know about the circumstances surrounding the most serious threat to their corporate reputation in a generation.

To watch the hearings is to sense a lack of urgency -- the new global quality committee doesn't meet till the end of March? -- and to see a company still processing the reality of the mess it faces, however much Toyoda blames it on a "speed of expansion" that "outpaced the development and training of our people."

"I'm embarrassed for you, sir," Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., said during Toyoda's testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "I'm embarrassed for dealers. I'm embarrassed for the thousands of people who work for Toyota across the United States."

Why? Lots of reasons, the biggest of which is the simple fact that Toyota's facade of all-knowing invincibility, of being an "American company," of always putting customers first lies shattered -- all of it from the mouths of top executives, including the guy whose name is on the building.

The customer, as Toyoda and his president for North America, Yoshimi Inaba, conceded, increasingly did not come first. High-profile complaints, like that of the "possessed" '06 Lexus ES 350 driven by Rhonda Smith from Sevierville, Tenn., were summarily dismissed.

Astonishingly, her harrowing story apparently was unknown to Lentz. He didn't know the well-publicized details of Guadalupe Alberto, a 77-year-old who died in Flint when the Camry she was driving crashed into a tree -- a testament to his stunning cluelessness, pitiful internal communication, Toyota's lawyers or all three.

Over two days, Toyoda, Inaba and Lentz exposed the fiction that Toyota is an "American" company, if that is defined to mean anything more than a foreign company that employs 172,000 folks in plants, offices and dealerships around the country.

But for sales and marketing decision-making, every substantive call affecting Toyota's operations in the United States -- manufacturing, engineering, safety and recalls, communications -- is made in Japan, they confirmed, a direct contradiction to the corporate spin for, oh, the past decade.

And "Japan," to borrow Lentz's usage, failed to connect the dots on a burgeoning problem that landed its president before a congressional committee and ripped a gaping hole in Toyota's envied reputation for bulletproof quality, reliability and customer service.

Toyoda, the scion of the industrial dynasty, said the right things. He apologized. He took responsibility. He essentially admitted that ambition outstripped execution and strayed from the corporate creed that made Toyota the brand powerhouse it became.

But he didn't bring an end to the nightmare. Buried in his careful statements is red meat for trial lawyers looking to make a buck off Toyota's $30 billion-plus cash hoard and red meat for like-minded politicians trolling for contributions from trial lawyers.

More obvious is the unmistakable admission that Toyota, the gold standard of the global auto industry, allowed the arrogance of success to blind it to festering troubles within.

Toyota president to testify to Congress today

February 24, 2010
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News

The spotlight now moves onto Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., who has agreed to testify today before Congress on the company's big recalls.

Toyoda, the grandson of the Japanese automaker's founder, will take full responsibility for the safety concerns weighing on Toyota and Lexus owners, according to his opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform committee. The company issued a copy Tuesday.

Toyoda will reiterate his plan to improve safety by stressing quality over quantity at the company which, he says, may have grown too fast in recent years.

But the challenge is how well the Japanese boss, less than a year on the job, can handle the question-and-answer session.

"He probably was in a bubble his whole life," said Adam Hanft, head of brand strategy firm Hanft Projects in New York and a blogger for the Huffington Post and other sites. "This is probably the most challenged he's ever been."

Hanft said he hoped that Toyoda had been prepped to understand that the bare-knuckle approach typical of House hearings is part of the American political game and shouldn't be taken personally.

"It's an opportunity for him to get beaten up with grace," he said.

Japanese executives can seem stiff and formulaic at such events. "He has to defy that stereotype and come across as warm, authentic, engaging," Hanft said.

Toyoda, 53, knows the U.S., having studied at Babson College and worked at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. venture in Fremont, Calif.

But people expecting big disclosures or even another session filled with drama like Tuesday's pummeling of James Lentz, a senior American executive at Toyota Motor Sales USA, may be disappointed.

Toyoda will probably respond to questions in Japanese, speaking through a translator, as he did last year at an industry conference in Traverse City.

"It's going to be harder for anybody to question him with the full intensity that they questioned Lentz," said industry analyst Maryann Keller of Maryann Keller & Associates in Stamford, Conn. "You can't have this fluid exchange, where one interrupts the other," she said, when speaking through translators.

"I think the testimony will be unsatisfactory for everybody who expects a monumental revelation," she said.

"He's been CEO less than a year. Most of these cars were not made under his watch. What can you expect but an apology and a promise to try to do better?"

But by now, his ability to resolve this problem is limited, Keller said. "I'm not sure that he can do or say anything that's going to stop this train and reverse what has happened."

U.S. officials may share
hot seat with Toyota

Feb 23, 2010
Daniel Howes

The hot seats at the congressional grillings of Toyota Motor Corp. brass, set to begin today on Capitol Hill, aren't just reserved for the Japanese automaker's executives.

Expanding investigations into sudden unintended acceleration complaints and suspect brakes on Prius hybrids are beginning to depict government bureaucrats charged with ensuring the nation's vehicle safety as slow, indecisive, technically ill-equipped and too willing to give Toyota the benefit of the doubt.

Even worse, the record assembled by congressional investigators describes nearly a decade of sudden-acceleration complaints with Toyota vehicles -- long before the Bush administration paved the way for its successor, Team Obama, to bail out Detroit and grab controlling stakes in rivals General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

All of which may explain why everyone from the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, to the director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are publicly muscling Toyota: They're playing that time-honored Washington game of "CYA" because the mounting evidence is as damning for the bureaucrats as it appears to be for Toyota.

"Our preliminary assessment is that NHTSA has lacked the expertise needed to address this serious defect and has conducted only cursory and ineffective investigations," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, wrote LaHood on Monday in advance of a hearing today before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

"Since 2000, NHTSA has received 2,600 complaints of sudden unintended acceleration, as well as defect petitions requesting investigations. Despite these warnings, NHTSA conducted only one cursory investigation in 2004 into the possibility that defects in electronic controls could be responsible for these incidents."

The key numbers here are a) 2,600 complaints dating back to b) 2000, with the only defect probe being conducted in c) 2004 by an investigator who d) conceded he was "not very knowledgeable" about electronic throttle controls. That should reassure Toyota owners.

Here are a few more numbers, courtesy of committee investigators: Back in 2004, federal regulators produced a chart showing a 400 percent increase in the rate of sudden acceleration complaints in Toyota Camrys equipped with electronic throttle controls compared to the same models with manual throttle controls.

Four more "defect petitions" requesting investigations into sudden acceleration complaints were rejected since the 2004 probe. In late 2007, the nation's largest auto insurer, State Farm, told federal regulators it had detected an increase in sudden acceleration incidents involving Toyota vehicles.

And Toyota, for its part, didn't launch its own study of any potential electronic causes behind the complaints until two months ago. That was long after the death last August of a California state trooper and three members of his family in a runaway Lexus sedan was caught on a chilling audiotape.

Bottom line: There's a whole lot more evidence to explain the pressuring of Toyota by federal regulators than bailout politics, Obama meddling and a chance for the United Auto Workers to settle a score with the mostly anti-union Japanese automaker it loves to hate.

For Toyota, the timing is terrible. The August accident, highlighted by ABC News and others, came barely one month after GM emerged from bankruptcy under effective control of the federal government. Like it or not, Toyota's deepening troubles come as Washington is more attuned to the industry and what its economic contributions mean to the country.

The risk in the evidence isn't Toyota's alone. The hearings threaten to reveal a cozy conviviality between regulators, the regulated and constant negotiation over the rules; to pave the way for tougher, less flexible, more expensive industrywide oversight; to drive a case for expanding NHTSA staff and technical resources.

They also could confirm seething nativist suspicions in Detroit about their federal government's double-standard in favor of Toyota and a pristine image belied, almost daily, by discomfiting reality.

Toyota labeled Obama administration 'not industry friendly'

David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Feb 22, 2010

Washington -- Toyota Motor Corp. officials complained internally last summer that the Obama administration was "not industry friendly" and feared the government might toughen regulatory requirements.

In a July 2009 corporate presentation obtained by The Detroit News today, the company's Washington office asserted that an "activist administration and Congress -- increasing laws and regulation" posed a challenge to the Japanese automaker.

The eight-page presentation was made to Yoshimi Inaba on his second day on the job as head of Toyota's North American operations.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, under President Barack Obama is "not industry friendly," Toyota argued.

"NHTSA's new, more aggressive management includes more attorneys at the agency, even in the leadership of rulemaking and enforcement," Toyota wrote. "The new team has less understanding of engineering issues and are primarily focused on legal issues."

As a result, automakers "anticipate a more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment, with potential for revisiting key regulatory proposals."

Toyota spokeswoman Martha Voss on Monday defended the presentation.

"With any new administration and a new Congress, the political environment changes and affects public policy decisions in the nation's capital. At the time of this internal presentation, the administration and lawmakers had publicly indicated a desire to revisit government regulatory regimes across many industries, from banking and finance to health and automotive," Voss said.

"Any prudent business would take those matters into consideration for planning purposes."

Toyota also said the "massive support for Detroit automakers" was a challenge for the company. The company referred to the $62 billion bailout of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC as part of the "challenging political environment."

Toyota officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment this morning.

It said as the company continued to grow there was an "expectation to be a leader."

The documents are among 50,000 pages of material that Toyota's turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"While the Administration may have changed, the bureaucracy itself has not, and we must ensure that government regulators give every possible consumer concern its due diligence," said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

In a separate 10-page part of the July 2009 presentation -- first obtained by The Detroit News on Sunday -- Toyota boasted about saving more than $100 million by negotiating for a limited recall in 2007 of just 55,000 floor mats, rather than a more expansive mechanical fix.

The company also noted that it had saved millions on other regulatory issues by delaying them.

In a statement Sunday, Voss said the company's "first priority is the safety of our customers, and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong."

CAW CONTACT
Volume 40, No. 7 –
February 22, 2010

Strong Arbitration Award for Pharma Plus Workers in Ottawa

A recent arbitration award on the issue of wage progressions for 400 CAW members at Pharma Plus stores in Ottawa is a strong victory for workers.

The award means workers will now reach their top wage rate after 36 months of work. It overturns a company interpretation of the 2008 collective agreement that trapped workers in a system that often meant they had to work a lot more than 36 months to reach the top rate. The company attempted to rollback many newer employees months of service on the wage grid.

“This is an important win for workers at these stores. It restores a fair system of pay based on how much experience workers have,” said CAW eastern Ontario area director Harry Ghadban. “The award ensures the wage grid negotiated during our last round of collective bargaining will be properly applied.”

The company is now required to go back and assess the rate of pay for each employee and ensure they are fully compensated based on the existing wage grid and to also provide any back pay owing.

CAW Local 414 represents 400 workers at 21 Pharma Plus drug stores in Ottawa, Ontario including cashiers, clerks, pharmacy technicians, postal clerks.

RSI Awareness Day: February 28 Because Work Shouldn’t Hurt

CAW members and other workers across the country continue to suffer from the debilitating effects of Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs) or Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).

RSIs and MSDs are an invisible epidemic. Approximately 2.3 million Canadians have experienced an RSI serious enough to limit their normal activities, according to a new Statistics Canada study. This marks a significant increase in RSI incidence over the five-year period between 1996 and 2001. According to the survey, the majority of these injuries are caused by work-related activity. The only way to prevent these injuries is to know the risks.

The 11th International Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day is February 28. This is a day to build awareness and to continue emphasizing the need for ergonomic regulations, justice and dignity for injured workers and respectful accommodation.

CAW President Ken Lewenza is urging CAW locals to raise RSI awareness, by reproducing the Health and Safety Fact Sheets on shoulders, backs, wrists, arms and standing, found on the Health and Safety section of the CAW National website at: http://www.caw.ca/en/4655.htm

Also available on the CAW website is an RSI Day poster and leaflet. CAW locals are urged to take part in area activities through local labour councils and community organizations on February 28.

Norfolk Hospital Agreement Overwhelmingly Ratified

CAW Local 302 members who work at the Norfolk Hospital in Simcoe, Ontario have voted 92 per cent in favour of a new three-year agreement that ensures they reach pattern with other southern Ontario hospitals.

The new agreement provides wage increases, improved benefits, increases in shift premiums and gains in vacation. Wage increases are two per cent in each year of the contract.

In addition, Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) receive a bump up to ensure they reach pattern. There are also benefit gains such as chiropractic and physio-therapy coverage for the first time, as well as improvements in bereavement coverage and other benefits.

“The solidarity of the membership helped the bargaining committee achieve a strong agreement which in turn ensures our members will reach the pattern with other southern Ontario hospitals,” said CAW national representative Julie Herron.

Unit chairperson Terry Myers said the contract talks were tough, but as bargaining continued the unit became more united and focused on achieving the best agreement in difficult economic times. “This was the highest ratification result we’ve ever had,” Myers said.

CAW Local 302 represents 234 workers at the Norfolk Hospital including RPNs, personal support workers, cooks, servers and hospital service workers.

Brampton Pension Forum

More than 200 people crowded into the pension forum in Brampton, Ontario on February 4, 2010. The forum was part of a series of events being held across the country, co-ordinated by the Canadian Labour Congress and affiliates, including the CAW. For more information or to find or organize a forum in your area, please visit: http://www.caw.ca/en/7978.htm
Severance Must Be Priority, CAW Urges Labour Minister

CAW President Ken Lewenza met February 11 with newly-appointed Federal Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt to discuss the federal government’s role in protecting workers’ severance pay.

Lewenza asked the minister to put the issue on the agenda of her upcoming meeting with provincial/ territorial ministers of labour on February 20 and 21. The union has had similar discussions with Ontario Minister of Labour Peter Fonseca.

“It makes no sense at all, that workers should face double, even triple jeopardy when they lose their jobs,” Lewenza said.  “Instead, we need to ensure that employers actually pay severance and that bankruptcy laws give priority to the severance owing to workers. Furthermore, our laws should require that severance pay is left in the hands of the worker, not clawed back by EI or taxes,” he said.

The CAW delegation, which met with the Minister in Toronto, included Gerry Farnham, President of CAW Local 195 which was forced to blockade Windsor-area auto parts plants to secure a partial payment of millions owing in severance pay.

The union asked that the federal government put an end to EI rules that require workers to use up their severance pay before they start receiving EI benefits, along with other EI improvements.

The union also proposed that the federal Wage Earner Protection Program maximum of $3,323 per employee be raised and cover a broader range of insolvency situations, and further that outdated federal tax rules be amended as to the amount of severance pay a worker can transfer tax free to an RRSP.

UNICEF and CAW Raise Thousands for Haiti Relief in Toronto

On January 22, the City of Toronto, UNICEF Canada and the CAW-lead Handkerchief Project collaborated on a one-day public awareness event at Union Station in Torontoshowcasing the on-the-ground emergency relief work being done in Haiti, and other countries stricken by natural disasters.

Throughout the day, commuters travelling through Union Station had the opportunity to chat with UNICEF volunteers like Helen Hermenier (pictured here) at an information booth set up in the main lobby. Passers-by were also encouraged to donate to UNICEF’s Haiti disaster relief efforts.

UNICEF Canada raised over $3,000 for Haiti Relief in Toronto.

Bigger cars get smaller, more
fuel-efficient engines

Joann Muller, Forbes.com

Feb. 21

BOB SZOSTAK
Passes away

The Retirees send out their deepest condolences to the Szostak family. Bob Szostak was the HR Manager at The Ford Bramalea Plant for many years.

Toyota recalls may close nagging perception gap

American automakers may benefit from quality concerns

The most lasting consequence of Toyota’s embarrassing recall of 8.5 million vehicles worldwide might be one that benefits Detroit automakers.

Finally, we might see the closing of the perception gap about the quality of Japanese vs. American automobiles.

Even after Detroit automakers have fixed all manner of dysfunction within their companies, they’ve struggled to eliminate the lingering belief in consumers’ minds that Toyotas and Hondas are bulletproof, and that GM, Ford and Chrysler models are, well, inferior.

But the reality — as millions of Toyota owners are now learning — doesn’t quite line up with that once-lofty perception.

Folks are finally learning that Toyota isn’t perfect and that the cars and trucks made by Detroit automakers are a lot better than most people think.

The quality reality

The absolute truth is this: The gap in quality between Japanese and American brands is usually so small that even the experts acknowledge that it is barely relevant.

Take the annual J.D. Power and Associates annual “initial quality study,” for example.

First of all, the “study” is actually a “survey” that asks buyers 228 questions about their new car or truck after 90 days of ownership. Those questions range from problems experienced with critical parts, such as the engine, to pesky issues with, say, the design of navigation systems.

Toyota’s Lexus earned the best score in the survey, with customers reporting 84 problems per 100 vehicles. The worst performer, BMW’s Mini, had 165 problems reported per 100 vehicles. That sure looks like a big difference, but break down that “per 100 vehicles.”

What this study really found was that consumers reported about 1 problem in every Lexus and less than 2 problems in the last-place Mini. That means every brand sold in America had about 1 to 2 problems per vehicle.

And the difference in initial quality per vehicle between the nation’s top three brands, Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota, was 1.03, 1.02 and 1.01, respectively. That means the difference is so small it’s actually measured by the one-hundredths per vehicle.

In an interview Thursday, Dave Sargent, vice president of vehicle research at J.D. Power, acknowledged: “A statistician would say they’re not that different.”

The gap remains wide

Sargent said the best measure of quality issues an owner will experience during the life of a vehicle is J.D. Power’s long-term durability survey. That measures 202 problems after three years of ownership, and there is a little more variation in that one.

The study’s top performer — GM’s Buick brand — had 1.22 problems reported per vehicle. The worse performer, which was Japanese automaker Suzuki, had 2.63 problems per vehicle.

That means, after three years of ownerships, consumers reported between 1 and 3 problems per vehicle.

More specifically, consumers reported 1.85 problems per Chevrolet, 1.59 problems per Ford and 1.29 problems per Toyota.

After three years, then, the difference between a Chevy and a Toyota was about half a problem, or 0.56.

The whole auto industry should give itself a round of applause for these results. And Americans should take note and ask themselves: Does your perception match up with reality?

For too long, it has not.

“In most parts of the country, the perception gap is still pretty wide,” Sargent told me. “When we ask people why they bought a vehicle, a high proportion of people who purchased Japanese products give high perception of quality as a reason why they bought. It’s lower for the domestics.”

Is perception reality?

Unfortunately, for Detroit’s three automakers, perception — not reality — is king when it comes to car-shopping. When consumers browse dealer showrooms, they’re swayed by all sorts of deeply entrenched perceptions that lead them to chose one brand over another.

Ultimately, this perception gap has been quite expensive to all of us living in Michigan, and really, in this country. It has cost Detroit automakers, and their parts suppliers, untold sales, profits and, especially painful now, jobs.

Japanese automakers such as Toyota have largely been the beneficiaries of Detroit’s losses.

As I was watching Toyota’s recent “Commitment” commercial apologizing for not living up to its own standards, I wondered:

Isn’t it about time Americans shake that nagging feeling that a Chevy or a Ford isn’t as good as a Toyota or a Honda?

Because, according to the recent consumer surveys, every automaker makes a few mistakes.

Bankrupt Visteon to argue
for exec bonuses

By JEWEL GOPWANI
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Feb 19, 2010

Visteon Corp. is due in bankruptcy court on Thursday to take on two contentious issues: a proposed incentive plan for managers, and how retirees will be represented in the case as the supplier tries to unload its pension liabilities onto the federal government.

The Van Buren Township-based auto supplier will ask U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Sontchi for permission to pay bonuses totaling $5.9 million to $35.4 million to 1,300 salaried employees, depending on how close the supplier comes to meeting its financial targets for 2010.

Of that, between $1 million and $5.9 million would be set aside for 12 of the company’s top executives.

Unions and the U.S. trustee have objected to the incentive plan. The company’s creditor’s committee withdrew its objection earlier this week after Visteon raised the financial targets that would trigger a bonus.

The UAW and IUE-CWA note in their objections that the request for a bonus plan comes after the company terminated health care and life insurance benefits for retirees and said it plans to transfer its pension liabilities to the federal government.

The International Union of Electrical Workers has appealed Sontchi’s decision that will allow Visteon to stop paying health care benefits for 6,650 current and future retirees, as well as their dependents, at the end of March.

The same retirees who will lose their benefits are pushing for representation in the company’s bankruptcy case.

During today’s hearing in a bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del., Visteon also will argue against Sontchi’s decision to allow retirees to have an official committee — at the company’s expense — in the eight-month-old case.

“We understand the concerns of the pension plan participants. However, we don’t believe there is a legal basis for their appointment to the unsecured creditors committee or for the creation of a separate pension participant committee,” said Visteon spokesman Jim Fisher .

Visteon, citing pension laws, maintains in court documents that retiree interests should be represented through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Retirees have formed an ad hoc committee to represent retirees who face lower pension payments if Visteon is allowed to transfer its pension liabilities to the PBGC.

Visteon retirees “must have the means to protect their interests and have a meaningful voice heard in these proceedings,” the retiree committee said in a court filing last month.

If the pensions are moved to the PBGC, Visteon retirees would lose out on nearly $100 million in benefits, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Visteon could be nearing the end of its bankruptcy case. Late last year, the supplier filed a reorganization plan that would leave unsecured creditors without any payment.

That plan would give its lenders 96.2% of the company and the rest of the ownership to the PBGC.

However, Visteon is looking at alternative bankruptcy plans and has been granted more time to discuss its plan with potential investors.

A hearing on the company’s bankruptcy plan has been postponed from Feb. 18 to March 16.

Political Action Report

Demonstrations coordinated for across Canada were organized to protest the proroguing of parliament. Our retirees chapter was represented by Brother Berry and the local was represented by Sister White on January 23rd. 2010 at Conservative MP David Tilsons riding office in downtown Orangevile. Attendance at these demonstrations was far more than expected and Orangeville was no exception. Canadians from all walks of life were out in force to vent their displeasure at Stephen Harpers abuse of power that  this legal apparatus affords him in order to avoid controversy not once but twice within a year. Ignatieff has been quoted as saying that he will be seeking changes to the prorogation option  in order that it can’t be used in such a flagrant manor in the future. We shall see.

The next battle and more dear to our hearts is the fight to improve and guarantee pensions in Canada. To this end I was honoured to attend a pension forum at the Local 112 union hall with Brother Champange and his parents who are currently both retired employees of Nortel. Attendees of note included labour activist extraordinaire Brother John Cartwright, Ken Dryden, liberal MP speaking on behalf of Michael Ignatieff, John McCallum liberal MP, and Wayne Marston NDP MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek. The consensus in a nut shell was the importance of doubling the CPP benefit over the next 20 to 30 years. The issue amongst the panelist was the rate of payroll deduction it would take to achieve it. It was said that 96% of Canadians are covered by CPP and its cost to administer is nominal (point five of one percent presumably on the dollar) making it appears to be the best vehicle to attain guaranteed coverage

In Solidarity
Brother Doug Berry
Sgt-at-arms

Ford's European sales
up on new Fiesta

Feb 13, 2010

Ford said today its sales in 19 European markets increased 4.2% in January, although its market share declined slightly.

For the month, Ford sold 105,300 cars and trucks compared with 101,000 in January a year ago.

“January marked the eighth consecutive month of sales volume growth for Ford,” Ingvar Sviggum, Ford of Europe’s vice president of marketing sales and service, said in a statement.

Ford said its market share declined to 8.8% in January, down 0.6% compared with last year. The company said the decline in market share was due to aggressive discounting by competitors in some countries.

In Europe, Ford’s performance continues to be led by its Ford Fiesta and Ford Ka subcompacts. Ford said the Fiesta subcompact was the second-best selling car in Europe in January and said sales increased 34% to 39,200 cars. Sales of the Ka mini-car increased 57% to 8,500 cars.

Ford’s new Fiesta subcompact will go on sale in the United States this summer. Ford has not said it will bring the Ka to North America.

Bill Ford's challenge: Stay lean, hungry and innovative

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Feb 12, 2010

Bill Ford Jr. likes going to work these days.

After years of gloom, employees are smiling again. Ford Motor Co.'s cars and crossovers are winning big awards. And his company, which many had given up for dead just a few years ago, not only survived one of the worst crises in the history of the auto industry, but eschewed a taxpayer bailout, avoided bankruptcy and rebounded back to profitability.

Bill Ford has said little publicly about his role in the turnaround -- until now. In an interview this week with The Detroit News, the great-grandson of Henry Ford spoke about the challenges of keeping the company's lenders, its workers and the rest of the Ford family on board during one of the stormiest periods in the automaker's storied history. He also talked about Ford's latest challenge: keeping the company's newfound confidence from turning into complacency.

"It's something that I think about all the time," he said. "How do we not go back to where we were? How do we stay lean and hungry? And how do we continue to foster innovation? A lot of that does fall to me. I am the institutional memory around here."

While Ford CEO Alan Mulally has justifiably gotten most of the credit for the company's nascent recovery, Bill Ford has not been idle since ceding the CEO job to the former Boeing Co. executive in 2006. As executive chairman, Ford has worked behind the scenes to convince the rest of the Ford family, the automaker's board of directors, its bankers and its workers to give Mulally's plan time to gain traction.

"I felt part of my job was to help free up the management team to manage the company," Ford said. "I've had 30 years here. I know the history and I know the players. I have a relationship with all of them. And I believe I've been able to help the company by balancing all of these interests."

Bill Ford praised board members for staying the course even as they watched Chrysler and General Motors topple into bankruptcy last year.

"They were firm believers in what we were trying to do at a time when most of the external world did not believe we were going to make it through this," he said. "It required a lot of extraordinary communication between the board and the company during that period."

Not that the board accepted Mulally's plan without question. The decision to sell Ford's foreign luxury brands, for instance, was one that required "explanation," Bill Ford said.

But the real issue for most board members was something much more fundamental.

"It was, 'Do we have enough time to pull this off, or are we going to run out of time before we get overwhelmed by the external factors?' " Bill Ford recalled. "That was the big question that dominated since the middle of 2008. It was an incredibly tense period for everybody involved in the company."

Including the Ford family.

Family unity tested

The last three years have tested the family's unity as never before. But as Bill Ford is quick to point out, not a single share of the family's stock was sold.

"Everything that they were reading was doom and gloom for Ford, but we all wanted to hang on and do what we could to make sure the company made it," he said. "Had the family not shown that resolve, I'm not sure the bankers or the (United Auto Workers) would have. It was very important that the family stay together."

That they did speaks to Bill Ford's role as leader of the Ford clan.

"In a time of difficulty, whenever there is a lack of information, that void will be filled with rumor and speculation," he said. "I felt it was my job to minimize that scuttlebutt and to make sure if they had any questions, if they had any confusion or, frankly, if they had any disagreements, that I heard about them and we talked about it."

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said that role is one of the most important Bill Ford has played.

"Bill really is that interface between the family and the other leadership of the company," Cole said. "He has maintained the intimacy of the family with the company, and I think that has been very important."

A big issue for many family members has been the lack of dividend payments, suspended shortly after Mulally was hired.

A decade ago, stock dividends provided $130 million in revenue to the family annually. Now that the company is profitable again, Bill Ford called restoring dividends "a high priority."

"It's something we'll take a look at as we're on the road back to investment grade -- which is something that is exceptionally important for this company," he said.

Battling complacency

Still, Bill Ford believes the biggest challenge will be ensuring that Ford does not slide back into old, dysfunctional habits. He has watched the company turn victory into defeat before -- saw the stunning gains delivered by vehicles like the Ford Taurus in the 1980s and the Ford Explorer in the 1990s squandered by a culture of complacency. And he is making it his personal mission to ensure that does not happen again.

"It's a legitimate concern," Cole said. "It's hard to keep the pressure on forever. They need to keep highly focused and not deviate on the plan. It's every company's Achilles heel: Once you get to the point that the immediate danger is over, complacency starts to set in. I really think this is at the root of some of Toyota's problems."

Toyota Motor Corp., renowned for building safe, reliable, top-quality cars and trucks, is being scrutinized after recalling more than 8 million vehicles for problems linked to unintended acceleration.

Complacency has been part of Ford's problems. Bill Ford knows that better than anyone. He is determined to make fundamental changes wrought by Mulally -- putting hard facts ahead of hopes and the company's welfare ahead of personal ambition -- a permanent part of Ford's corporate culture.

"Having seen how Alan did it, how he institutionalized this process, it's going to be my mission to make sure that lives on," Ford said. "I'll be very involved in the succession process. But Alan's not going anywhere. He enjoys it. He's having fun. And he's being hugely successful."

CAW CONTACT
Volume 40, No. 6 – February 12, 2010

Buy America Deal to Have Dire Consequences for Canada

While federal Parliament remains suspended, the Harper government has snuck through a “Buy America” exemption deal with the United States that will do more harm than good for Canadian workers and businesses over the long term, says CAW President Ken Lewenza.

“This is a ridiculous deal negotiated under the radar by the Harper government,” said Lewenza after announcement of the deal on February 5. “It fails to protect Canadian interests, it gives up more than it gets and trades off long term opportunities for possible short term gains.”

The special exemption deal, widely cited as an emergency measure to protect the interests of Canadian companies reportedly shut out of U.S. economic stimulus funds, could effectively remove the rights and powers of government to manage public spending on big ticket construction projects. These projects, Lewenza said, should be used to develop Canada’s economy and keep Canadians working.

Under the deal, Canadian businesses will be given a chance to bid on whatever remains of U.S. federal and state economic stimulus projects up until February 17 (when the project awards will be complete). 

In the meantime, the deal leaves governments vulnerable to the terms and conditions of the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which restricts public purchasing rules.

Part-time Jobs Don’t Make for Recovery, CAW President says

“The growth in part-time work is absolutely no cause for celebration,” says CAW President Ken Lewenza, in response to unemployment numbers released by Statistics Canada February 5.

“Instead it means that more Canadians are ending up in precarious employment – characterized by irregular hours, little job security, low wages and few benefits – this is really nothing to cheer about.”

The most recent statistics showed a surge in part-time employment of 43,000 new jobs, but no real growth in full-time work. Lewenza called the exclusive growth in part-time employment alarming and warned that it gives Canadians and more importantly, the government, a false sense of security that the economy is improving.

“Workers need full-time, sustainable jobs that they can survive on, instead of having to string together part-time jobs to make ends meet,” said Lewenza. “I believe that’s what these new statistics show. We cannot jump start the economy with only part-time or temporary employment opportunities.”

The latest growth in part-time work coincides with the long-term labour market trend which has seen the number of people in part-time work, but actively looking for full-time employment, skyrocket by a whopping 184 per cent since 1997, according to Statistics Canada’s own data.

“Today, approximately 900,000 Canadians fall into this category of people who are forced to work part-time,” said Lewenza.  

CAW Members Ratify Nova Scotia Health Care Agreements

CAW Local 4600, 4603 and 4606 members working at three health authorities in Nova Scotia have overwhelmingly ratified new collective agreements with wage and benefit improvements.

The 31-month agreements covering 2,300 hospital workers were ratified as follows:
- Cape Breton District Health Authority (health care unit), 79 per cent;
- Cape Breton District Health Authority (service unit), 95 per cent;
- Guysborough Antigonish Strait Richmond District Health Authority, 95 per cent;
- IsaakWaltonKilliamChildrensHospital, 98 per cent; 

Wage increases total 4.9 per cent over the life of the agreement with an additional 2.1 per cent increase for workers such as technologists, dieticians, therapists and others in the health care unit.

Licensed Practical Nurses receive an additional six per cent increase effective September 1.

In addition there are improvements in long term disability, pregnancy and parental leave provisions. The employer has agreed Biomedical Technologists will be voluntarily included into the CAW bargaining unit.

“The bargaining committees’ hard work and commitment to the membership was instrumental in achieving the gains we made,” said CAW national representative Susan Burrows. “There were no concessions.”

CAW Local 4600 President Shauna Wilcox said it was an extremely tough round of bargaining made all the more difficult because of the economic hard times.

“But the solidarity of the membership and the committee’s hard work resulted in some strong gains for our membership.

CAW Local 4603 President Jim Callaghan said “we resisted concession demands and instead achieved many gains for the membership. By working together we’ve moved the agenda forward, despite tough economic times.”

CAW Calls for Probe into Mining Giant Xstrata

The CAW is calling on the federal and provincial governments to thoroughly investigate international mining giant Xstrata, including the reason for closing its Timmins Kidd metallurgical site. 

Should this investigation conclude that Xstrata has little reason to close the Timmins site, both levels of government must force Xstrata to divest their Timmins, Ontario assets, says the CAW.

The closure is slated for May 1, a move the CAW is calling unnecessary.

According to the Investment Canada Act, the federal industry minister retains the power to review the implementation of an investment by a foreign company and determine whether it varies from the original application and still results in a "net benefit" to Canada. If this is not the case, federal Industry Minister Tony Clement can force a company to remedy the situation or even sell some of its assets.

In Ontario, the Mining Act requires that ore and minerals be treated and refined in Canada. Failing to do so allows the minister of natural resources to withdraw the company's mining rights.

The closure of Xstrata's Kidd Mine metallurgical site in Timmins, Ontario could cause the loss of up to 4,428 jobs and $152 million in annual taxes, according to a new study commissioned by the Timmins Economic Development Corporation, conducted by Econometric Research Limited. 

"Northeastern Ontario cannot afford to lose these good, highly productive jobs," said CAW President Ken Lewenza. "Xstrata must not be permitted to exploit the region’s resources and then leave it in dire straits when it's convenient to do so.” 

On February 8, Xstrata announced a $2.8 billion profit for 2009, defying even analysts' expectations.
The report Our Resources Stay Here: Seven Reasons Why the Xstrata Metallurgical Site Must Stay is available at: http://www.caw.ca/en/8442.htm

Settlement Agreement with Nortel

The CAW has signed a $57 million interim settlement agreement with Nortel that will provide continued protection of benefits, pension payments and an advance on severance pay for retirees, active employees, those on long-term disability and terminated employees.

It’s anticipated the settlement agreement will be approved in court on March 3. Here is a summary of the agreement:

Medical and Dental Benefits
- if you are currently receiving a pension, if you are a beneficiary or survivor of a Nortel pensioner or if you are currently in receipt of LTD income, you will continue to receive medical and dental benefits until December 31, 2010;

- life insurance coverage continues until December 31, 2010.

Long-Term Disability Recipients
- Nortel will continue to pay long-term disability income benefits until December 31, 2010;

Pension Benefits
- Nortel will continue to make regular monthly contributions to the pension plan until September 30, 2010;

- the company will also continue to make payments to reduce the pension plan deficit until March 31, 2010;

- Nortel will stop administering the pension plan as of October 1, 2010; 

 - as of October 1, 2010 the Financial Services commission of Ontario will appoint a new administrator of the pension plan.

Termination Pay
- more than $4 million has been set aside for an initial payment of approximately $3,000 to each former employee who had their employment terminated by Nortel and who have not been re-employed by a successor or received severance pay or bonuses. This payment is on account and will reduce final severance pay claims.

In the company's heyday in the mid 1980s, the CAW represented approximately 5,000 Nortel workers at five locations.
More details are available at www.caw.ca/en/5511.htm

CAW Members Ratify Two Collective Agreements at Windsor Regional Hospital

CAW Local 2458 members have ratified one-year collective agreements covering two bargaining units at Windsor Regional Hospital. Both the Service Unit and the Skilled Trades Unit agreements include a 2% wage increase, post 65 benefits for active employees, and skilled trades language gains. 

But most importantly the deals contain job security language that will help to alleviate some of the pain that will accompany the major restructuring when Windsor Regional Hospital closes the doors at its Malden Park long-term care facility in December. This could affect up to 130 bargaining unit jobs.

Service members voted 88 per cent in support and skilled trades 82 per cent.

CAW Local 2458 President Bruce Dickie noted because of the Malden Park closure, the bargaining committee agreed it was in the best interest of their membership and a top priority, to secure an agreement that would assist them through this transition, even if that meant a shorter term.

“The alternative would have been the arbitration process that can often take so long that we quite possibly would not have had an agreement in place before the closure, and that was just not something we were prepared to risk.”

Tullio DiPonti, Financial Secretary of CAW Local 2458 said “Our membership would have certainly preferred the security of a three-year agreement, but completely understood why we could not jeopardize language that will assist those affected by this restructuring.”

CAW represents 700 members at Windsor Regional Hospital. An agreement for the technical unit, representing 125 technologists and technicians remains outstanding. 

GDP: Measuring the Human Side of the Canadian Economic Crisis

Rough Road: Auto-workers at a crossroads

Once a bustling motor-town, Oshawa has been devastated by a crisis that’s thrown Canada’s auto sector into its worst downturn since the Great Depression. As their employment benefits run out, jobless workers confront unprecedented hardship and seek support from a local action centre.

Once employed by General Motors, Brian reflects on all that he’s lost and the rough road ahead. http://gdp.nfb.ca/episode/1439/rough-road

GDP is an interactive online project of the National Film Board.

Comment, check out more stories or find out how to tell yours at: http://gdp.nfb.ca

Canadian Content Rules help Create Jobs in Quebec

In a move rarely seen in North America, a major Chinese railcar manufacturer announced plans to produce subway cars in Canada, creating 1,000 new jobs. The move is part of the company’s effort to meet Canadian-content requirements set by the government of Quebec to win a new multi-billion dollar transit project.
Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive of China, who is currently locked in a bidding war with a Bombardier-Alstom consortium to win a subway car contract from the City of Montreal, announced on February 8 it is prepared to manufacture all 1,050 required cars in Canada, if its bid is successful.

The Chinese railcar giant is conforming to the 60 per cent Canadian-content policy established by the provincial government in 2008. The policy governs all subway car purchases in the province.

“This announcement highlights the effectiveness of Buy Canadian policies as a means to create jobs and encourage new investment in our country,” said CAW President Ken Lewenza. “It proves that companies are prepared to follow local content rules in Canada, if they are put in place.”

The CAW has called on all levels of government to adopt similar policies to ensure a major portion of public spending is used to spur regional and economic development in Canada.

“This is smart economic policy that supports fair trade and good jobs in many industries, from transit to shipbuilding, and it’s time our government got on board with the rest of the world,” Lewenza said.

The CAW has mounted a number of successful Buy Canadian campaigns across the country, at both provincial and municipal levels, resulting in billions of public dollars spent in Canadian communities.

In 2009, the CAW worked with City of Toronto Mayor David Miller and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to include Canadian-content provisions in a record-breaking $1.2 billion light rail transit project. Because of this provision, over 200 rail vehicles will be built in Thunder Bay, Ontario creating and preserving thousands of jobs.

CAW Health Care Conference

The CAW Health Care Conference will be held May 7 to 9, 2010 at the Delta Halifax in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The conference theme is Defending our Rights - Preparing for the Future. The conference will include guest speakers, plenary sessions and workshops. Further details regarding workshop selections for pre-registration will be forwarded to CAW health care local union presidents and recording secretaries in the near future. 

The registration fee is $60. Cheques should be sent to CAW Canada, 205 Placer Court, Toronto, On, M2H 3H9, attention Peter Kennedy. Cheques should be made payable to CAW Canada with Health Care Conference in the memo field.

Notes from HAITI…
CAW Members Help Out at Clinic

Three CAW Local 636 members spent a week in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti helping out at an impromptu medical clinic assessing and providing wound and trauma care to hundreds of victims of the devastating January 12 earthquake.

Tanya Bultje, Teresa Cisek and Marlene Magashazi are Personal Support Workers at Woodingford Lodge, which has long-term care facilities in Oxford County, Tillsonburg, Ingersoll and Woodstock, Ontario.

Tanya’s sister runs a home for disadvantaged and special needs children in Port-Au-Prince. Tanya, Teresa and Marlene help at the facility from time to time and immediately headed to Port-Au-Prince after the earthquake hit.

What they found was gut-wrenching with more than 160 people camped in the yard of the house with many people suffering from severe wounds, fractures and other trauma.

Tanya said the three are planning to go back in mid-February to continue helping at the medical clinic and will be joined by a fourth Woodingford Lodge worker, Liz Pais.

“The problems in Haiti are very difficult and complicated and will continue to get worse as more time goes by,” said Tanya. “We must go on providing as much support as possible as the people of Haiti struggle to overcome the immediate crisis and work to rebuild the country over the long term.”

“The local union and the community are tremendously proud of these members who took their time to assist in the relief effort in January and are returning to assist again soon,” said CAW Local 636 President Ross Gerrie.

Next Edge gains 3 engine options

4-cylinder EcoBoost is included for 2011

The 2011 Ford Edge to be unveiled today at the Chicago Auto Show will show off a variety of new features

A more aggressive front grille and more angular headlamps give the popular crossover a more dynamic face. It also gets a more tech-friendly interior.

But the biggest change for the 2011 Edge is under the hood, with three new engine options.

The Edge has already been a successful vehicle for Ford.

The automaker has sold 331,672 since its introduction in 2006, making it among the most popular midsize crossovers in the U.S.

Ford said the updates to the Edge will give customers a reason to buy another one.

"We're talking about ... significant exterior improvements, an all-new interior, a vehicle that is quieter, and a vehicle that will be more fun to drive," Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of global product development, said last week.

Customers are to be able to pick from three new engines -- including a four-cylinder, 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine -- when it goes on sale this summer.

Ford introduced six-cylinder EcoBoost engines on several models last year, but the four-cylinder EcoBoost makes its debut in the Edge.

EcoBoost combines direct-injection technology and turbocharging to improve fuel economy without sacrificing power.

In addition to the small EcoBoost engine, Ford is offering a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 285 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque on the Edge. For the Edge Sport, Ford is offering a 3.7-liter V6 engine with 305 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque.

The Edge also will be the first vehicle to feature Ford's new MyFord Touch technology, which replaces traditional knobs and switches with a five-way controller on the steering wheel as well as a touch screen.

MyFord manages all climate, navigation, entertainment and communication functions.

In the past, what the automotive industry refers to as mid-cycle freshening typically resulted in minor styling changes. But last year, when Ford updated its Fusion midsize car, critics gushed about the changes, U.S. sales increased 22% and the vehicle won several major awards.

Kuzak said the Edge is another example "of our new approach to freshenings."

Ford ready to take wraps
off Transit Connect Electric

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Feb 10, 2010

Dearborn --Ford Motor Co. is scheduled to unveil the Ford Transit Connect Electric on Wednesday at the Chicago Auto Show. It's the first in a series of battery-powered vehicles from the Dearborn automaker.

As The Detroit News first reported last week, the new version of Ford's compact commercial van will be powered by a high-voltage electric motor that takes its power from a battery pack charged by being plugged into a 120- or 240-volt outlet. The company says it has a top speed of 75 miles per hour and a range of 80 miles on a full charge.

The Transit Connect Electric will be available later this year to commercial fleet customers.

Analyst Erich Merkle of Autoconomy.com in Grand Rapids said that is the right market for the all-electric van.

"It's perfect for transporting cargo around urban settings," he said, noting that commercial vehicles often follow fixed routes and can easily return to their garage for recharging.

"It's most viable for business applications. Electric vehicles really aren't viable right now for consumers looking for everyday transportation."

Derrick Kuzak, Ford's global head of product development, said the company already is in discussions with a number of commercial fleet customers that are interested in the new electric van.

"It's the first of our next set of electrified vehicles," he said, noting that the Transit Connect Electric will be followed next year by the Ford Focus Electric, a battery-powered version of the company's new compact. In 2012, Ford is scheduled to begin shipping a next-generation hybrid and a plug-in hybrid built off the same platform.

Though the Transit Connect is built in Turkey, all of those vehicles will be assembled at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne.

Azure Dynamics Inc. of Oak Park will make the electric powertrain for the van. The company already manufactures hybrid electric and electric drive technology for shuttle buses and commercial trucks, some of which are based on Ford platforms.

"For us, it's an important evolution of our existing relationship with Ford," said CEO Scott Harrison, who promised the new powertrain will be built in Michigan. "We see a growing demand from all segments."

He said telecommunications companies, utilities and delivery services are among those clamoring for electric commercial vehicles.

The lithium-ion battery pack will be produced by Johnson Controls-Saft.

Ford also is scheduled to debut a Transit Connect taxi for livery customers. It incorporates a special version of Ford's Sync system that will allow passengers to access news, sports scores, weather and other information from the back seat of the van, which features more leg room than the regular model. The same system also will allow riders to pay with a credit card.

The Transit Connect taxi will be powered either by compressed natural gas or liquid propane.

"That approach makes a lot of sense in an urban environment," Merkle said. "It's also easy to exit and enter. In many ways, it's going to be better than the Crown Victoria."

Ford offers to fix Fusion, Milan Hybrid brakes

By BRENT SNAVELY
Feb 9, 2010

Ford today announced that it is offering to repair 17,600 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids that might give drivers the impression that the brakes have failed as they attempt to stop or slow the vehicle.

The Dearborn automaker said in a statement that the braking problem occurs as the car switches from a regenerative braking system to conventional hydraulic braking.

Ford spokesman Said Deep said the vehicles maintain full braking capability, but “some people may perceive that condition as a loss of brakes.”

The company has developed a software fix that changes the pedal feel so it doesn’t drop, Deep said. That software change is already on all vehicles produced since Oct. 17.

Consumer Reports said today an engineer who was testing a Ford Fusion Hybrid thought the brakes failed as he was testing the vehicle and zoomed through a stop sign.

“It didn’t actually fail,” said David Champion, director of automobile testing for Consumer Reports. “What happened was the pedal dropped and the driver thought the pedal failed.”

Champion said he views the brake defect as scary and serious but noted that Consumer Reports has praised the overall quality and safety of the Fusion Hybrid.

Ford said it plans to send customers with affected vehicles a notice in the mail and said owners with those vehicles can have the vehicle software reprogrammed by dealers at no charge.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was initially notified of the issue last year, Deep said, but the agency has only received one customer complaint.

Deep said Ford decided to announce its customer satisfaction program today because the company has been receiving complaints from customers and because of questions raised by Consumer Reports.

News of the program comes amid heightened attention to safety to recalls involving Toyota vehicles for unintended acceleration issues and a formal probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into braking complaints on 37,000 Toyota Prius hybrids.

CAW CONTACT
Volume 40, No. 5 – February 5, 2010

 
CAW Local 598 Members Ratify Xstrata Agreement

CAW/Mine Mill Local 598 members at Xstrata Nickel in Sudbury, Ontario have overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year collective agreement that rejects company demands for concessions and ensures greater job security for workers.

CAW members voted 93 per cent in favour of the new agreement. The CAW represents 580 active members and 500 workers who are laid off.

“Our priorities included the elimination of numerous company demands for concessions, while also making gains in the areas of job security and pensions,” said Jerry Dias, assistant to the CAW President. “With the support of the membership we achieved those objectives after tough around-the- clock bargaining.”

The new agreement includes a $2,500 signing bonus for active and laid off workers, a retirement incentive of $10,000 for eligible employees who voluntarily elect to retire with an unreduced pension during the life of the agreement, and the re-opening of the Fraser Copper Mine creating 140 jobs.

Other gains include a $150 per month pension gain for those with 30 years service or more, spousal life insurance of $10,000 and a number of other benefit gains. There is a wage increase in the third year and COLA is maintained.

Company demands for temporary recalls and temporary workers were rejected. “All members returning to work will have the same rights as any other member and their recall rights will be renewed,” said CAW/Mine Mill Local 598 President Richard Paquin.

He stressed that the new agreement protects and improves the pension plan. “Our membership has remained united throughout this journey and has to be commended for staying united,” Paquin said.

CAW’s Nash Gets NDP Nomination

Hundreds of supporters of Peggy Nash crowded into a Toronto high school auditorium to nominate her as the NDP federal candidate for the Parkdale-High Park riding, the riding she represented as a Member of Parliament from 2006-2008. 

“This country needs her leadership in the House,” said NDP Leader Jack Layton at the January 28 meeting. “Peggy was raising the crisis in manufacturing in the House three years ago. This was at a time when MPs were derided by the Conservative government for speaking up on behalf of those who were losing their jobs. She was pushing for a manufacturing strategy, a green manufacturing strategy.” Layton said that had the government heeded Nash’s advice then, our economy would be in much better shape today.

Although there is no election on the horizon, Layton pledged that getting Nash elected would be a priority for the party. The incumbent is Liberal MP Gerard Kennedy, a one time party leader candidate and former Ontario MPP. Kennedy has raised the ire of many residents who complain about not having seen him since the last election.

Nash, a lifelong resident of Parkdale-High Park and community activist, was lauded for her commitment to social justice issues, working hard with groups ranging from Students for a Free Tibet to Equal Voice and various environmental organizations.

In her nomination acceptance speech Nash spoke about her deep shame, shared by many Canadians, at how our country has fallen in the eyes of the world during the tenure of Stephen Harper. “I was deeply embarrassed and infuriated that our country was voted the most notorious fossil during the Copenhagen UN climate change negotiations,” said Nash. 

Nash also talked about the necessity of breaking through the cynicism many Canadians feel about politics and our government to create a real democracy of local and national engagement. “Let’s work together to create a new democracy where your MP is the voice of the community, for the community!”

Protesters Take Over N.S. Government Office to Save Ferry

Demonstrators took over a Nova Scotia government office on February 4 following a spirited rally calling on the Nova Scotia government to reverse its decision to end the high-speed ferry service between Yarmouth, N.S., Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine.

The group of approximately 250 people, including CAW members and staff, eventually left the building peacefully.

Politicians of all stripes, except for the NDP, attended the rally outside and spoke in favour of keeping the ferry service, including Yarmouth Mayor Phil Mooney. CAW President Ken Lewenza also spoke at the rally and pressed the need to reverse the decision which was made suddenly and without consultation.

“The short-term and long-term effects of this decision are devastating to every industry – from tourism to shipbuilding,” said Lewenza. The end of the ferry service means a loss of 100 direct jobs and 500-600 spin-off jobs. Lewenza said that the Yarmouth to Maine route is the only crossing that isn’t supported by the federal government and this situation must be fixed for the long term viability of the communities that rely on the ferry service.”

To hear more about why Nova Scotians need the Yarmouth ferry, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/user/rescueourferry#p/a/f/1/X2iaFxs41YQ

OFL Launches Communities That Work Campaign

Unions in Ontario are pressing Premier Dalton McGuinty to make next month's budget a 'good jobs' budget with a campaign calling on the government to protect public services, create green jobs and support precarious workers, among other demands.

"The top priority for the Ontario government must be to preserve and create good jobs," says Ontario Federation of Labour President Sid Ryan. "That's how we'll pay down the deficit and speed up and consolidate the economic recovery. It's the only sustainable way to really help the government's bottom line.

"Billions of dollars have been spent on infrastructure to stimulate the economy," said Ryan.  "We don't want to see that progress reversed in this budget by cuts or sell-offs.”

On February 1, the OFL launched its "Communities That Work" campaign, taking to the airwaves in a province-wide blitz of radio ads to deliver the message.

"This is an important campaign and I encourage all Ontario CAW members to get involved in their communities," said CAW President Ken Lewenza. The CAW recently began the process of re- affiliating with the OFL and the campaign is the first major initiative since then.

For more information or to find out how to get involved, please visit: http://www.communitiesthatwork.ca/

Unemployed Running Out of Benefits Before Finding Jobs

A new report reveals that hundreds of thousands of unemployed Canadians may run out of Employment Insurance benefits before they can find a new job.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report indicates that 500,000 Canadians who launched EI claims last year could have benefits run out with no job prospect on the horizon.

The report, which was written by Canadian Labour Congress chief economist Andrew Jackson, highlights that 120,000 more unemployed Canadians could not collect benefits as of October 2009, compared to October of the year before, prior to the recession.

"We can expect that the total number of new regular claims in 2009 will (have) hit about two million," Jackson said. "If the exhaustion rate were to remain the same as in 2006-07, we could eventually see some 500,000 plus exhausted claims in late 2009 and into 2010."

Although the report credited the government for extending benefits by five more weeks, it said these changes were not enough to handle the additional demands caused by the recession.

Even with EI system improvements, only about half of those unemployed across Canada were collecting benefits as of last October. In Ontario, which has been hard hit by the recession, the number collecting benefits is about 41 per cent, Jackson said.

TTC Chair Gets CAW Endorsement for Mayor

Toronto mayoral candidate and Toronto Transit Commission Chair Adam Giambrone addresses supporters at the launch of his campaign in Toronto’s Little Italy, February 1, 2010. Giambrone has received the endorsement of CAW President Ken Lewenza for his progressive vision of the city’s future, including strengthening public transit.
McMaster Establishes Canada’s First Labour Studies School

Hamilton’s McMaster University will be the first Canadian university to run a fully autonomous labour studies school, following an announcement made on campus January 26.

McMaster pioneered the development of university labour studies programs in Canada, establishing the first in 1976.

Since then, labour studies programs focusing on issues of work, trade unions, globalization, equity and labour market restructuring have been formed in universities across the country – usually under the umbrella of the social and political sciences departments.
Expanding the scope of the program into its own school at McMaster, will offer professors and program administrators more flexibility in determining curriculum, programs and enhanced graduate study opportunities for students.

This move is significant because it comes at a time when Canadian business schools have become common place among post-secondary institutions, said CAW Work Organization and Training Director David Robertson.

“Hopefully this ground-breaking work at McMaster will strengthen Canadian labour studies programs elsewhere in the country in the face of these current academic trends,” Robertson said. 

McMaster University has maintained a long-standing relationship with the CAW, partnering on a landmark non-degree labour studies certificate that was launched over 10 years ago. Each year over 200 students participate in after-hours labour courses focused on everything from politics to the environment, and labour history to the economy. 

Notes from Haiti…
CAW Members Support Rescue Mission of Haitian Orphans

CAW Local 2002 members Edie Kaye and Elizabetta Long took part in a rescue mission that brought orphaned Haitian children to their new families in Canada.

The mission lead by Air Canada, and dubbed “Operation Stork”, helped unite 154 orphaned children with their adopted families.

“There were concerns that the adoption process was tied up in various levels of bureaucracy, which worried many of the new parents,” said Kaye, a workplace representative at the Air Canada Reservations office in Saint John, New Brunswick.

“Air Canada offered to expedite the process by flying these children to Canada. I feel so fortunate that I was able to take part in this initiative.”

Both Kaye and Long work as Customer Sales and Service Agents for Air Canada and were among the many CAW members who volunteered their time to assist the Haitian children during their flights to Canada. Three Air Canada flights were sent to Haiti from January 23 to January 30 as part of Operation Stork. 

The CAW has set a goal of raising $250,000 for Haitian relief efforts.

CAW Welcomes New Members

►        Nutritional Management Services, St. Thomas, ON – 22 members in CAW Local 2168;

►        Waterloo Regional Homes for Mental Health Inc., Kitchener, ON – 31 members in CAW Local 1106;

►        Mcintosh Limousine Service Ltd.,/Air Cab Limousine Services (1985) Limited and Aaroport Limousine Services Ltd., Toronto, ON – 210 members in CAW Local 252;

Education Update! 
New!  One-Day Grievance Handling & Workplace Leadership – Basic

Would you like to know how shop stewards or committeepersons investigate grievances, present them to management and write them up properly?

Would you like to learn how by practicing these essential steps using actual workplace situations and contract language?

Have you considered running for this position? Or are you simply interested in learning more about how the union handles workplace issues?

If yes, this one-day introductory course is for you.

This course was produced by the CAW Education Department. For information on how to register or how to book this course in your area, check the CAW web page at www.caw.ca/education., or contact the CAW Education Department at educate@caw.ca.

Stop Bill C-391 –Save the National Gun Registry!

The CAW is ramping up efforts to ensure that Bill C-391 (the bill to scrap the federal long-gun registry) does not become law.  To find out how to lobby your MP, please contact http://www.caw.ca/en/8182.htm

Ford Taurus SHO's chunky looks belie powerful capabilities

Scott Burgess - Det News
Feb 4, 2010

The 2010 Taurus SHO is so American it should be sold only in red, white and blue.

It's slightly overweight, has more high-tech gadgets strapped to its hip than a Japanese tourist and touts its green street cred with a 365-horsepower turbocharged direct-injection V-6.

SHO, which stands for Super High Output, is a fantastic car, though it never felt like the complete package.

Now, I'm not poking fun at Americans or the Taurus SHO, for that matter. I'm merely acknowledging out loud what we all quietly know.

Subtle has never been the American way. We are a people who say "look at me" as often as we can. We dance in the end zone, then tweet about it in case someone didn't see it. We're brash, we break stuff and then snarl about it. Just watch the Super Bowl on Sunday and count how many times players quietly return to their position after a big play.

The Taurus SHO should be taking notes.

It tries too hard to act normal, when it should grab a little more attitude. This is 2010, not 1932 -- though there are similarities.

If you've got direct-injection and two turbos attached to your 3.5-liter V-6, let people know it. Turn off the electronic stability control and smoke all four tires in that standard all-wheel-drive. Wave an arm out the window, signal a first down and see if 350 pound-feet of torque can dislocate a shoulder.

A little smack talk, please. Anything less would just be un-American.

The performance brother to Ford's flagship, the SHO holds a special place for the Blue Oval. It was introduced in 1989 as a limited-production vehicle; though after selling 15,000 the first year, Ford kept it around for 10 more.

Wolf in sheep's clothing
The new model maintains the Taurus SHO tradition of understated looks. The car was specifically designed to resemble a sleeper but act like a racer, according to Ford.

The suspension and steering are dialed in perfectly for such a big sedan -- the original Taurus SHO was built as a midsize car. The new SHO sports big slabs of sheet metal and high beltline.

The optional SHO Performance Package provides an even tighter ride, practically eliminating body roll through hard corners and comes with bigger brakes, which this car could use on the regular version, too. There's even a sports mode that will clamp down the ride.

The electric power-assist steering feels well-weighted through turns. Even on more subdued driving on the highway, the Taurus SHO provides a solid, quiet, smooth ride.

It may have tons of power at the ready, but for the most part you forget you're in a monster machine when you're driving. It feels a little heavy on the road -- it weighs 4,368 pounds -- but in a well-built sort of way; call it Super Husky Optimization. Hitting 90 mph in this car is as easy as breathing.

Its gas mileage, however, suffers from all of that weight and power. While the EPA has come out and said the SHO can hit 17 miles per gallon in city driving and 25 mpg on the highway, my unofficial testing put my combined mileage around 15 mpg. In fairness to Ford, I was not driving the SHO like an EPA tester. I tended to emphasize the "Boost" part of this particular engine's name more than the "Eco" prefix.

This car has all of the attributes of something special. Most people won't know that when you drive up, though.

There are few differences between the SHO and regular Taurus exteriors. Designers gave it specially painted rims and 19- or 20-inch high performance tires, a deck lid spoiler, two chrome exhaust tips and new grille. There are also different parking lamp bezels and some SHO badges sprinkled about the car. But a quick glance won't reveal much.

The SHO should pop a little more when it drives by. Might I suggest glitter and a giant hood scoop?

Attitude shift
If people can't tell the SHO is extraordinary, this could lead to years of therapy and self-esteem issues -- which would lock in the car's Americanism. Nowadays everyone is special; the Taurus SHO should embrace it.

That old-school attitude of speak softly and whack people with a big stick just can't work in our narcissistic modern times.

The SHO needs to shout more from the tops of parking garages that it's got paddle shifters, a silky smooth six-speed automatic transmission with downshifting rev matches and can outperform just about any mainstream large sedan on the road. After all, it's true.

What's also true is the interior. While nearly identical to the regular Taurus, the SHO felt less impressive. Like its exterior, there are subtle differences, such as the aluminum pedals and leather-trimmed seats with Miko suede inserts.

Some of the silver trim, especially around the instrument cluster and on the passenger side, felt and looked cheap. It's a strange phenomenon: When you peer into the cabin it looks great; when you sit in it, it doesn't.

SHOing promise
But there's no denying the comfort it provides. The roominess makes it an excellent choice for someone who has to carry around five American-size adults.

Technology-wise, the Taurus SHO offers a buffet of gizmos and gadgets. From the upgraded Sync to blind-spot detection, this Taurus SHO lets drivers keep their eyes on the road.

There's also adaptive cruise control, which adjusts the car's speed to those in front of it; Ford's capless fuel cap -- it's a fuel cap with a hole in it; and lots of other features that do everything from swivel the headlights, watch for traffic as you back up and rub your derriere as you drive.

If that's not showing off, I don't know what is. And that's what I like to see: brazen confidence ready to take on the world. Don't hide under the Taurus name, be yourself, be the king of the road.

Go on, SHO me.

Toyota hit by Prius brake complaints

Defective brakes come amid massive global recall over
faulty accelerators in other models; shares plunge

Toyota Motor Corp.has been hit by over 100 complaints in the U.S. and Japan about brake problems with the popular Prius hybrid, the latest in a spate of quality troubles for the automaker as it grapples with massive global recalls.

The Japanese company's sales are being battered in the U.S. – Toyota's biggest market – after recalls of top-selling models to fix a gas pedal that can stick in the depressed position.

The new Prius gas-electric hybrid, which went on sale in Japan and the U.S. in May 2009, is not part of the recalls that extend to Europe and China, covering nearly 4.5 million vehicles.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes of the Prius new model. Two involved crashes resulting in injuries.

Japan's transport ministry said Wednesday it has also received 14 complaints since July last year about brake problems with Toyota's new Prius hybrid.

The 14 complaints included an accident in July 2009, in which a Prius crashed head on into another car at an intersection. Transport ministry official Masaya Ota said two people were slightly injured in the accident.

“The Prius driver in the accident told police that a brake did not work,” Ota said. “Other Prius drivers also complained brakes were not so sharp.” The complaints in Japan involve the new Prius model, and the vehicles were all made in Japan, he said.

The ministry ordered Toyota, the world's No. 1 automaker, to investigate the complaints. The other 13 cases happened from December to January 2010. Ota said the ministry has yet to receive a formal report on the complaints from Toyota.

Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said the company has received reports about the Prius complaints in North America and in Japan and was now looking into the matter.

Toyota shares plunged 5.7 per cent to 3,400 yen ($38) with jittery investors dumping stocks in the wake of the Prius woes in the U.S. and Japan. The benchmark Nikkei stock index edged up just 0.3 per cent to 10,404.33 as the drop in Toyota dampened sentiment.

“Investors were worried the latest trouble involving the Prius could get bigger. The problem could pose a bigger question on Toyota's quality and safety,” said Kazuhiro Takahashi, market analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. Ltd.

The Japanese automaker is facing growing criticism that it has not done enough to ensure the safety of its vehicles.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press Tuesday that federal officials had to alert Toyota to the seriousness of the safety issues that eventually led to the recalls.

“They should have taken it seriously from the very beginning when we first started discussing it with them,” he said. “Maybe they were a little safety deaf.”

Mr. LaHood also said the U.S. government was considering civil penalties for Toyota for having dragged its feet on safety concerns.

Toyota executive vice president Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged Tuesday in a Nagoya, Japan, news conference that it took prodding from NHTSA officials for the company to decide on the U.S. recall.

Toyota has long prided itself on sterling vehicle quality and assembly line methods that empowered workers to ensure faultless production.

The latest recall, announced Jan. 21, over sticky gas pedals affects 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. alone.

Any serious problems emerging in the Prius, Toyota's flagship green car model, is certain to further tarnish its brand.

The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.6 million units sold so far, according to Toyota.

Hybrids, by going back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor, tend to offer better mileage in slow-speed and stop-and-go driving that's common in crowded cities.

Ford to unveil all-electric Transit van at Chicago show

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News
Feb 3, 2010

Ford Motor Co. says it will unveil a new, all-electric version of its Ford Transit Connect commercial van next week at the Chicago Auto Show.

The battery-powered van, which will be available to fleet customers later this year, is the first in a series of electric vehicles the Dearborn automaker has promised to bring to market over the next couple of years.

"Ford Transit Connect Electric is an urban, zero emission, light commercial van that serves the environment as well as its owners," Ford said. "Instead of an internal combustion engine, the Transit Connect Electric uses a high-voltage electric motor that takes its power from a battery pack charged by plugging into a 120- or 240-volt outlet and uses not a single drop of gas."

Ford plans to introduce a battery-powered version of its new Ford Focus to retail customers next year.