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---- "A Family Tradition for 125 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, July 3, 1991 - 13 Talk of GM plant shutdown in Oshawa shouldn't be taken lightly say workers By Scott Anderson Talk of General Motors clos- ing down one plant in Oshawa should not be taken lightly, say employees. Dave Saulnier, a 10-year vet- eran at the plant, says the threat of the plant closing after the 1994 model year should be taken seriously, and he says many of the workers are con- cerned. General Motors of Canada has until August to prepare a business case for management in the United States in the bid- ing for another product line to replace the Chevrolet Lumina which is being shifted to the States after 1994. Management hinted to Ca- nadian Auto Workers represen- tatives recently that in order for the company to appear com- petitive with its American counterparts it must make con- cessions on its current con- tract. Competitive is the operative word in this case. The company has already announced that one of the product lines, which produces the Chevrolet Lumi- na, will be moving to Virginia after 1994. It is therefore es- sential for the Canadian opera- tion to get another product to replace that line. But the Oshawa plant must bid for the model, along with its American counterparts, and prove that they can make it at a competi- tive price. : GM spokesman Nick Hall says the situation is very real and that talk of closing the plant is not just a scare tactic to achieve increased productiv- ity numbers. Mr. Hall adds "General Motors does not go around threatening its employ- ees. He says it is basically a situ- ation between Canada and the United States, and Oshawa must prove to the decision makers that it is the "best plant". In order to do this the Cana- dian plant must prove that it is comparable to that of the American plants in terms of cost, ually, delivery, and has a stab e work force. Mr. Hall says the company would like to take a look at the collective agreement between the union and GM of Canada to see what areas can be altered in order to make the plant more competitive. He says they all must work together to- wards this goal, and must be of "all one accord" by August when the bid is due. But John Sinclair, president of Canadian Auto Workers Un- ion Local 222, says the union has no interest talking conces- sions on a contract that was just signed. He says giving up something does not solve any- thing. But he does say they are willing to listen to any ideas the company has. He believes they do have some ideas, but at this point have not told him. Mr. Sinclair blames the Mul- roney government for all the woes the economy is facing at the present time, and accuses the prime minister of giving up everything to the United States. He says the mood of the union at the present time is one of concern. "You have got to be con- cerned when you see how Mul- roney is giving away Canada. You can't give away much more," he says. There are two basic moods inside the plant, says Mr. Saulnier. On the one hand he says the younger employees with not as much seniority are "scared". On the other hand, he says, the older, more secure workers, don't seem to be too alarmed. Mr. Saulnier says he is will- ing to sacrifice some things in order to remain working at the plant, but isn't about to give up everything. "I'm not afraid to give up a dollar or two a day, or work a little longer in order to work five days a week," he says. "But there's only so much we can give up before drawing the line." "There's some things I think Certificates D. J. TAYLOR INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. 169 North St., Port Perry LOL 1B7 Guaranteed Investment (Rates Subject to Change without Notice) G.1.C. 5 YEARS PHONE 985-8416 Gore's Landing on Rice Lake Lunch and Dinnner served Wednesday through Sunday. & Try our Sunday Brunch '] 0 95 10.30 a.m. - 2 p.m. 3 A Reservations please 416-342-3261 the guys are willing to give up, while other things I think there's going to be a hell of a fight." Bruce Dempsey, another GM employee, agrees that the threat must be taken seriously. He says if the company were to lose a product line to the States, they would never gain it back. He agrees that the workers must make concessions in or- der for them to remain compet- itive. He says the Canadian workers' attitudes towards their jobs must change, howev- er. He points towards the abuse of certain privileges such as sick days, which he says is getting out of hand. Benny Wittevene, who has been with the company for 39 years, agrees that "things are definitely out of hand" in rela- tion to the abuse of benefits, and says there is "lots of room for improvement" in this area. Mr. Wittevene says he doesn't think the plant will close, but says the union and the company must come to- gether on issues to make them more competitive. Although he agrees that they must prove their competi- tiveness with the United States in terms of quality, reli- ability and efficiency, Wittevene says the bottom line is economics. | Whether or not the plant will close is a question of time, but one thing is for certain, it will have a devastating effect on the population around Scugog should it happen. Many of the residents are dependent both directly and indirectly by the Oshawa-based car plant. "If we lose that place in Oshawa, the whole area (Port Perry) will become a ghost town," says Mr. Saulnier. He says when GM is healthy so are the businesses in the area, and business booms when the plants are working at full ca- pacity. "When we're working, we really give the local busi- ness a shot in the arm." Mr. Hall says GM Canada has until August to put togeth- er a business case which it must present to the manage- ment team in the States. All the bids will then be evaluated and a decision will be made early next year. GRADUATE WENDY LEE ANNE BROWN Daughter of Garry & Carol Brown of Port Perry, graduated from Seneca College on June 18th, 1991 with an honours diploma in Dental Assisting. Wendy is employed at the Port Perry Dental Centre. 7 Financial and Business Planning Corporations - Farms - Small Business Income Tax - Planning and Preparation \ [S\N ] GREAT SELECTION! GREAT SAVINGS! 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