Unifor has suspended its aggressive multi-media campaign to persuade General Motors to reverse its November decision to close the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
"There's a lot of speculation that we have been meeting with General Motors, and that is correct," says National President, Jerry Dias.
In a release, the union says Dias met Tuesday with senior General Motors officials in Detroit to find ways to preserve jobs in Oshawa and he says he is much more optimistic today than he has been over the last few months.
"It's really about us finding some solutions that we've been talking about for the last few weeks," he says. "I'm really not going to get into the weeds as per the discussions and what it is exactly that we're looking to do — let’s just say the conversations and negotiations are at a critical time right now."
GM Spokesperson David Paterson acknowledges that the auto maker is involved in what he calls "ongoing discussions," and tells AM800 News they are focusing on what can be done to take care of the people in Oshawa.
Unifor National Presidents speaks to reporters at North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January 14, 2019 (Photo by AM800's Rob Hindi)
Dias says he isn't naive enough to think a new vehicle will fall out of the sky in the next few months for the Oshawa plant to be retooled for.
"Are we precluded from long-term? the answer to that of course is no, we'll always continue to fight for new product but once again, I'm not going to get into weeds, I don't really want to get into the minutia of the conversations we're having — it's too premature at this time."
Paterson wouldn't comment on whether or not the talks mean a longer life for the Oshawa plant, saying "we're in discussions on how best to take care of our people and we're going to leave it at that and we're going to work together to try and find the most positive resolution we can."
Unifor says it began constructive negotiations with GM on February 25 and the parties have agreed to continue talks over the next few weeks.
GM officials said in January that the company had been contacted by more than 20 large employers across Durham Region and the GTA interested in hiring GM workers for up to 5,000 positions they plan to fill over the next two years.
Approximately 2,500 people will be out of work when the Oshawa plant closes.
— With files from AM800's Peter Langille