Posted: Monday, 1 June 2009
This has been devastation
Employment has dropped from 12,000 at GM Oshawa to just over 3,500 in two years. For each job lost, another 7.5 jobs were lost in auto parts and services. Long-time resident Sandra Kicinko says, “This has been devastation.” In May 2009, the unemployment rate in the region was 7.9%. It rose to 9.9% by August.
Just two weeks after concluding its collective agreement with the CAW in May 2008, General Motors announced that the Oshawa truck plant would close. Betrayed autoworkers knew the decision meant the end of 2,600 good industrial jobs, and a huge dent in the Oshawa industrial base. The closure of the truck plant was expected to affect 11,000 to 12,000 direct and indirect jobs. CAW members blockaded the corporate headquarters for 12 days.
Don Dew worked at seat-maker Lear Ajax for over 22 years. “They close Oshawa truck plant after telling them they were the best ones in the world for building a truck,” he exclaims. “Well, you d
on’t turn around a year later and close that same facility up.”
These boots were made for working
In early October 2008. CAW workers dumped hundreds of work boots in front of Conservative MP and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s Whitby office. Laid-off workers from across Ontario tied messages to the boots, such as “These boots were made for working” and “Honestly, ‘Made in Canada’ matters.”
The Canadian government forced CAW to negotiate a deal with GM Canada to make the Canadian company’s labour costs equivalent to those of non-union assemblers.
Laid-off autoworker John Macdonald saw the attack on workers’ pensions during the talks. “I hate to say that, but there’s not enough room under all these bridges for elderly women, widows, men, I mean, if this is the kind of way we treat our seniors, then we’re in big trouble as Canadian citizens.”
Late in 2008, GM announced that the third shift at the car plant would be cut. This news came as a blow to 700 workers. The auto industry could spin-off more industrial and technological developments. But, as Joel Smith from CAW says, “We’re losing the manufacturing capacity, and the engineering capacity will then start to go away with it.”
EI benefits are so dismal
Tammy Schoep is a single-mother of three who worked midnights in the paint shop. She was laid off two days before Christmas 2008. Things are more than tight for Tammy. “So, I’ve made the decision to sell my house before I ended up having it ripped away from me... I just got a phone call from the Bank today telling me that I have just over a month and they will take it from me.”
“Bankruptcy is the next thing that’s in order for me,” says Tammy. Schoep says the government has to step in. “EI benefits are so dismal,” she says. “It’s just above a $10-an-hour job, and that’s what people are supposed to keep their houses on and everything else?”
The people are left to look after themselves
When the Conservatives added extended EI benefits last spring, United Steelworker Chris Pinsent, had to call his Member of Parliament and federal Finance Minister to find out why unemployed workers had to call in to Service Canada to ask for the extension. Says Pinsent, “The people are left to look after themselves.”
This episode only added insult to injury for Pinsent whose employer, Ajax furniture maker Sklar-Pepplar, closed its facility and sought bankruptcy protection. The company closed down without paying wages or vacation, termination, and severance pay owed to Steelworkers. The company moved the factory to Shannon, Mississippi. It now sells imported furniture in an outlet next door to its old factory in Ajax.
No, Mum’s not working
Kathie Fowlie, women’s activist and CAW retiree sees the impact all around her. “I don’t think there’s anything more devastating than what happened to me the other day, in a store, and a young woman behind me was buying stuff, and her young son wanted to buy a little book to take home for his brother and she said, ‘No, mum’s not working.’”
Connie Snelgrove, laid-off Lear worker and coordinator of the CAW action centre talks about the stress on families. “Parents are looking at how he can work during the week, and maybe a lower paying job, and her on the weekend,” she says. “Or him during the day, and her at night, so that they’re swapping their kids.”
Kids in crisis
The school board has cut back on support staff, including health professionals and educational assistants. Says Ingrid Thompson of ETFO, “We have kids in crisis every day and there’s no place for them to go.”
Occasional teachers are eligible for EI if they have sufficient number of hours but it’s difficult to get enough hours. They run into more trouble, however, if they get a permanent part-time teaching job for less than a living wage. “The rest of the time, they’re doing daily supply, plus probably another part-time job to put food on the table and a roof over their heads, (but) they’re penalized from Employment Insurance. This is a huge thing,” emphasizes Ingrid.
No jobs out there to get
Jim Koppens worked at Loblaws in Oshawa which converted into a Superstore. To the employer, this meant a change in “banner” and justified their decision to offer workers reduced wages and benefits. To part-time workers this means a four-dollar-an-hour pay cut.
Jim thinks the federal government is not willing to admit the problem. “What scares me is that there might not be other jobs out there to even get. And that puts more of a burden on the government again, because now we’re talking the welfare system. So either way the government’s gonna be forking the money out.”
Do I take my children to the dentist, or do I pay the hydro?
Martine Fournier speaks of the impact on the United Way which “took a hit of approximately $700,000.” She continues, “When you have a $3-million budget, that’s very significant.”
Simcoe Hall Settlement House has seen an increase of approximately 20 to 25% per month in the usage of food banks. Executive Director Sandra Sweet says, “A jar of peanut butter is twice what it cost two years ago.” She continues, “ So a lot of people, again, are having to choose, ‘Do I take my children to the dentist, or do I get this prescription refilled, or do I buy food, or do I pay the phone bill, or the hydro bill?’ And there’s too many days in the month and not enough dollars to make it through to the end.”
Oshawa has received federal infrastructure money, but construction hadn’t started when we spoke with city councillor John Henry. “People need to see the work being done and the calls out to the local union halls. That’s not happening yet.”
Communities in Crisis - Oshawa, Ontraio