August 15, 2012 - 3:51 PM
TORONTO - Canadian Auto Workers negotiators sat down in Toronto today with officials at Ford Canada as the union completed initial contract meetings with the Big Three North American automakers.
The union started the process with brief, separate meetings with General Motors and Chrysler on Tuesday.
CAW, which made concessions when the big U.S. automakers were struggling during the 2008-09 recession, says it wants to share in the profits now that the industry has rebounded.
As part of its pattern bargaining process, the union will choose one of the three automakers as a negotiating target after Labour Day.
The deal that's hammered out between the union and the company will then set a precedent for talks with the other two companies.
Tony Feria, an automotive expert at the University of Windsor, predicts that Chrysler Canada Inc. will be chosen because the company has the largest Canadian footprint of the three and therefore has the most at stake.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012