The UAW may have accepted the Big Three’s two-tier wage system back in November of last year, but the UAW’s Canadian counterpart – the CAW — says it has no plans to accept such concessions when negotiations with the automakers begin in July.
“We are not accepting second-class workers in our workplaces,” CAW president Buzz Hargrove said.
According to Automotive News, the CAW — which represents 27,000 workers — indicated that it would go on strike before it accepted a two-tier wage system. Under a similar system in the U.S., new workers can be hired for as little as $14 an hour, whereas the old system had workers starting out at $28 per hour.
Making the situation even more complex is that fact that the Canadian dollar is now on par with the U.S. dollar, eroding the value of producing cars in Canada.
However, the CAW says it is willing to help the automakers with some issues, such as retiree benefits. But because Canada’s health care is publicly funded, there are only marginal gains to be had in that area.
The CAW’s labor contract with the Big Three is set to expire September 17th.
