Canadian union bucks GM plant closure

TORONTO, June 3 (UPI) -- The Canadian Autoworkers Union responded to news Tuesday of General Motors' plan to shut a Toronto-area plant with a demand to keep one shift operating.

Following GM's announcement plants would close in Janesville, Wis., Moraine, Ohio, Oshawa, Canada, and Toluca, Mexico, CAW President Buzz Hargrove issued a statement that said it was "a devastating blow" to Canadian workers.

"We recognize that the overall market for GM's larger vehicles, including pickups, is enduring a painful adjustment, but that does not give this company the right to violate its recent collective agreement and turn its back on Canada entirely," he said.

Some 2,500 workers in the assembly plant east of Toronto are affected by the closure, scheduled before the end of 2009.

The union said pickup truck sales are off by 15 percent this year in Canada, but almost 100,000 were sold last year.

"GM clearly sells enough pickups in Canada to justify retention of one shift of employment at this plant," Hargrove said.