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Author    Post   Public D F L I N T O I D http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080126.RCAW26/TPStory/Business CAW occupies plant over severance pay GREG KEENAN AUTO INDUSTRY REPORTER January 26, 2008 Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union occupied a tool-and-die making plant in Kitchener, Ont., yesterday in a bid to force creditors of the closed operation to pay severance to workers. "We are going to make sure that our workers get all the severance pay they are entitled to," Jerry Dias, an assistant to CAW president Buzz Hargrove, said yesterday from inside Ledco Ltd., which shut down earlier this week. About 40 union members took over the building to prevent creditors from removing equipment from the plant, which was shut earlier this week. Mr. Dias, who is the CAW national official responsible for the parts industry, said Ledco shut its doors because the 62-per-cent surge in the value of the Canadian dollar in the past four years has made it impossible to compete and led to losses of $5-million in the past five years. "They said: 'We just can't handle it,' " Mr. Dias said yesterday. Workers had refused to go along with a demand that they take a 25-per- cent pay cut, although reports said one small group of workers held an informal vote and agreed to the cuts. The CAW has a no-concessions policy. Wage cuts by the 40 unionized employees would have saved the company $10,000 a week, which would not have been enough to save the company, Mr. Dias said. The company, which employed about 65 people in total when it closed this week, built tools and stampings for Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. and other auto parts makers. It's the latest of dozens of plant closings that have rippled through the auto parts sector, and manufacturing as a whole. Auto-dependent communities in Quebec and southern Ontario have been battered by the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar, and market share declines and production cuts in Canada and the United States by the Detroit Three auto makers, Chrysler LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:54 pm  last time here Guest $100.00 says that equipment goes to india or china!!! _________________ Guest post Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:41 pm    Display posts from previous:   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First

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