The President of the Canadian Auto Worker’s Union has rallied his troops at the union’s annual council meeting in Port Elgin.
Addressing over 400 delegates at the CAW’s Family Education Centre on Friday, Ken Lewenza called the situation facing the auto industry unprecedented.
He says federal and provincial leaders are underestimating the power of the union and that its diversity is what will keep it strong through the current crisis.
He says it is their determination that will get the issues resolved.
He says auto workers should not be used as a scapegoat while making major changes in the industry during tough economic times.
Lewenza defends the approach to bargaining that the union uses. It’s still facing tough negotiations with Chrysler after a similar deal was adopted with General Motors.
He doesn’t believe the determination of the union should change when it comes to bargaining.
Lewenza says they need to represent the best interests of their members and the corporations are using the situation to exploit the bargaining process.
The CAW usually starts with one auto maker and then moves onto the next one with a similar offer. The current round of bargaining is necessary in order for GM and Chrysler to cut costs in order to be eligible for government bailout dollars.
Lewenza says General Motors will survive and still believes it has a strong consumer base. He believes the high quality of GM’s Canadian operations means it has strong future potential.
As for Chrysler’s survival, he says the CAW only makes up seven percent of the combined bailout costs from the Canadian and American governments, and he can’t understand why they’re getting 100 percent of the challenges from the government.
Lewenza says this is a stressful time for CAW members but he believes the union will emerge from this crisis because it represents many other areas of the Canadian economy.
The CAW council is meeting in Port Elgin until Sunday.