Chrysler suppliers set strike deadline
Last Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009 | 8:51 AM ET
CBC News
Unionized workers at a plant in Tecumseh, Ont., that builds interiors for Chrysler minivans say they'll strike if they don't a reach new collective agreement with their employers by late Friday night.
Ninety-seven per cent of the 125 unionized employees at Johnson Controls Automotive Interior have voted in favour of a strike, according to Dino Chiodo, first vice-president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 444. Their deadline is 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
"We're going to try to do what we can to make sure we get an equitable agreement, be fair and get a pragmatic solution to what's going on in the economy," Chiodo told CBC News.
Johnson Controls builds and sequences the overhead systems for the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country.
Its 2009 fourth-quarter results were much lower than those of 2008, according to online company reports. Sales dropped 15 per cent, from $9.3 billion US in 2008 to just $7.9 billion in 2009. Gross profits also dropped, by 12 per cent, from $1.4 billion US to $1.1 billion US.
The company is looking for every opportunity to "save money moving forward," Chiodo said. "The company has basically just told us that there is some economic reviews that they want to go through in the language."
A strike at Johnson could cause labour disruptions at Chrysler's minivan plants, including those in Brampton and Windsor.
