RichardJensen, on Oct 23 2009, 12:46 PM, said:
Doubt it.
Ford doesn't deal with unions this way.
Maybe int he states they don't but here is a different matter.
This not the first time Ford of Canada has temporarily idled a plant/s during negotiations.
Ford Canada did this with when they shuttered OTP right at contract negotiations with the CAW and was looking for hand outs from the Ontario Gov't and the Feds to update the rest of Oakville for the D3's. They basically held the CAW and the Gov't at ransom and said if we do not get AB&C Oakville will be shuttered for good.
The end result was the Gov't kicked up 200Mil for Oakville to keep the jobs here and the CAW made some concessions as well.
They also temp idled STAP during contract negotiations a couple contracts ago.
And there have been other occasions in the past were this has happened
Usually when Ford and the CAW were at opposite ends of the table such as now.
It usually motivates the CAW to be more reasonable anyway. Cause the last thing either want is for a Gov't mediator to step in and mediate a contract. And Ford Canada has kinda bound themselves to that kind of arbitration when they took public funds for Oakville. There are always those kind of conditions attached to Gov't funds here.
Things work a little differently up here compared to down south in regards to unions and labour and it is not uncommon for these kind of practices to occur here. Employer initiated work slowdowns canceling of overtime and second or third shifts(that can lead to layoffs). All these tactics are common place and legal, and are used to give the union representatives a little shove in the right direction during negotiations.
The Gov't's here are is way more prolabour than in the states but our labour laws have a shortage of work clause that will allow companies to lay off with no repercussions, yes even with unionized labour the only requirement is they can not rehire for that position for a period of 4 weeks I believe. All companies use this clause to dump dead wood or undesirables. But to enact this they must prove that there is a shortage of work. Buy Ford Canada idling Oakville they have now fulfilled that requirement opening the door to layoffs.
Even the most right wing province in the nation is not a right to work province. And when the gov't has to step in to arbitrate which is some thing that that both parties have a right to ask for or the Gov't will step in on it's own when things are stalled, and the arbitrators decision is final. That leaves the company 2 choices agree to it or shut down operations. And the union with no choice but to accept the decision. And yes companies have pulled the plug here due to arbitration.
Our Electricians went through this a few years back when the province stepped in and arbitrated their contract after 2 years with out one. They got the wages increases they were asking for but no retroactive. In the end they/we (I'm still an IBEW Member) ended up no better off than if they had accpeted what was put on the table 2 years earlier by the contractors. And more recently the Dynalife Lab workers had the same done. They got most of what they were asking for but not the amount of retroactive
Union contract negotiantioins here are not as strait forward in the states. And it is bit of a dance. And with Ford idleing Oakville I wonder if they are getting ready to play hardball.
Matthew