Despite official announcement by GM, union members will keep fighting
Well, the ball has finally dropped and shattered. The GM Truck Assembly plant in Oshawa will indeed close on September 2009, despite the efforts being made by CAW president Buzz Hargrove during his visit to GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Fritz Henderson at the headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.
Hargrove was very disappointed and saddened by General Motors decision to made it official. The union will decide how to carry out when their convention takes place sometime next week. Meanwhile, back in Oshawa, CAW local 222 members continue to picket outside the Canadian Headquarters. They will not budge until something can be done. The people struggled the hot weather that we had today and various music is played during their rally. They won’t go to sleep until their demands have been met.
Chris Buckley, president of the CAW Local 222 union told to the media that “GM should be ashamed of themselves”. This is what he also told the people who picketed:
“On behalf of the lot of you, we reminded them of the terrible decision they have made. Our trucks are going to Mexico and that’s a God-damn disgrace…”
Customers are starting to turn away from gas-guzzling SUVs into smaller cars that are fuel-efficient and also hybrids are coming to be popular thesedays. As the price of crude oil goes into unprecedented levels, people are starting to drive less. People are starting to scrap their vacation plans and decided to spend their vacation at home. Many airlines have implemented fuel surcharges. Here’s a breakdown on the historic prices of crude oil (source: http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/fuel/fuel.html):
When I first went to Vancouver by plane back in July of 2002 (at that time the price of oil was about $26US per barrel), two plane tickets (me and my dad went to see my uncle in Vancouver – Surrey to be exact and we flown through a charter airline called SkyService), it cost us around $500 (Estimated). Today, it cost about $780CDN (even through a charter airline!).
Anyways, other that this news, I’ll be heading to Ribfest in Pickering this weekend. It’s going to be good! Have a good week-end, guys. Keep cool.
References:
“GM not budging on Oshawa plant, CAW president says.” Detroit Free Press. 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080606/BUSINESS01/80606065>
“GM to close truck plant.” The Scugog Standard. 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.thescugogstandard.ca/news/2008/June-08/june6-08/gmplantcloses-214.html>
“CAW fails to win reprieve for Oshawa plant.” 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/06/06/caw-gmmeeting.html>
“GM Still Plans Factory Closing, Canadian Union Says.” Bloomberg.com. 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=akKTKjz8s6yY&refer=canada>
“Canadian union boss threatens strike over GM plant.” The Associated Press. 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jT1XNNWimcmIX3FeR4i8dzP8rizAD914PQPO2>
“CAW vows to continue blockade at Oshawa HQ.” CTV.ca. 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080605/GM_strike_080606/20080606?hub=CanadaAM>
“Union protests could get “a little illegal.” Newsdurhamregion.com. 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/article/100164>
“GM won’t relent on Oshawa truck plant closure: Hargrove.” Newsdurhamregion.com 6 June 2008. 6 June 2008. <http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/news/breakingnews/article/100122>
