I don't know if I should join the conversation but what the hell I have been called a lot of hings over my forty years in Industry. Believe me, I know what a Unionized work environment is all about. Personally, I worked in Management in the engineering office, never worked in for union work force. I never needed anyone to speak on my behalf. The situation in Oshawa , in my humble opinion is all about the cost of manufacturing, period. When GM can't make a profit, or a facility is not profitable, regardless to public opinion about how much profit is required, it is not the point. Business requires Profit, otherwise, situations unfold, and jobs , go where production COSTS are less. In my humble opinion , we , Canada , participate in a Global Economy , whether we like it or not. But when our Country gets involved with NAFTA, they still speak the language of COSTs per unit. That in my humble opinion is where we get into trouble. The cost of producing a finished product in Mexico cannot be compared to the cost of producing the same product in Canada or in the northern US. For example Cummings Diesel Engines, blocks, cranks and cams are casted in Mexico, then brought to, i believe it is Allentown, New York for CNC machining and then final assembly to completed engines. I visited the plant in New York, awesum !!!!!. I believe , Kellogg's cereal, buy grain produced in Canada, ship it to China, where it is processed into finished cereals and then shipped back to North America and sold in our food stores. !!!!!!!
Gentlemen, it is big business, and it all boils down to profit margins , the only thing we as Canadians can do is try to manage our costs ( LABOR cost ). I can go on, but I finds the topic is redundant. I too feel sorry for all the young faces in the photo, on the other hand I hope they are able and free to travel within the Automotive Industry and acquire similar work elsewhere, Canada's Loss all around.