Members,
Yesterday was a challenging day, as GM reiterated its intention to stop production at the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
The company made this decision with full knowledge of the damaging effects that a closure will have on Oshawa, and on the wider community. They dismissed every recommendation that Unifor brought forward to fulfill the terms of the 2016 collective agreement.
Attached, you will find an update that was distributed on the shop floor in Oshawa earlier today, where members put their tools down last night to protest GM’s decision. Please post this update on your local union websites and distribute to your membership lists.
I am proud of these workers for taking a strong stance against corporate greed.
Join me in Windsor on Friday to rally in support of all workers affected by a closure of the Oshawa Assembly Plant. Together we must send a clear message: GM, you have gone too far – do the right thing and reverse your decision! If you sell here, you must build here.
A high level of participation from all local unions will help show GM that their actions have consequences.
We must show unity in the face of GM’s threats, because the effects of a closure would be catastrophic. A study just released today projects job losses will mount over time to reach 14,000 in Ontario and a further 10,000 elsewhere across Canada by 2025.
A backgrounder of the report is attached to this letter, view the full report at saveoshawagm.ca/study.
In solidarity,
Jerry Dias
National President