New man at helm of Unifor Local 222
Colin James takes over as union local president; says negotiations with GM crucial to future of auto assembly in Oshawa
After more than 20 years of work with the union, Colin James recently took over as president of Unifor Local 222. James says this year is a crucial year for both the union and the future of the Oshawa Assembly, with negotiations with General Motors set to get underway later this year.
By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express
After decades of moving up the ranks, a new man has taken over the helm of Unifor Local 222.
First getting involved with union leadership more than 20 years ago, Colin James is taking over from former president Ron Svajlenko as head of the group representing many of the workers at the Oshawa Assembly.
And with this being a contract year, James says bargaining with General Motors is currently the union’s top priority.
“It’s going to be a critical bargaining year for us with General Motors. The most critical item is going to be us getting product in the plant because if we do not get product, it’ll be a plant closure,” James tells The Oshawa Express.
“This will affect not just us, but the feeder plants and the whole community too.”
The union is currently seeking input from its members on what it wants to see come out of this year’s bargaining, posting a page on its website asking for suggestions for contract demands.
James says along with the commitment for product, he wants to see salary and benefit increases as a way to pay back for what the union did during the automaker’s darkest days.
“When General Motors was in trouble in 2008, 2009, our members (and retirees) sacrificed an awful lot. Now, they’re making record money, they’re making record profits, and we believe it’s time to reward our members for the sacrifices they made, as well as reward the Ontario government and the Canadian government for them giving money to General Motors in order for them to survive,” he says.
“We’ve already started formulating our demands and putting different items together. Like I said, our number one demand is going to be product. Behind that, we want to make back some gains that we lost during the financial crisis, and our members are looking for gains this time around.”
Another thing James says he would like to see from bargaining is getting the plant’s contracted workers, brought in following the automaker’s financial woes of the 2008 financial crisis, up to the same line as the plant’s unionized workers.