April 2007

FROM WHERE I STAND

Globalization on My Shop Floor

By Jeff Armstrong

When the horn blows my shift starts and I have about 35 seconds to hoist a truck roof – the first of about 480 – to my co-workers: three robots who take care of the welding, sealing and stamping before they place the roofs on the pick-up trucks that we are building, together. The robots don’t talk much so when the horn blows again, this time signifying my 10-minute break, I hustle over to the picnic table to hear the hockey scores and the latest rumours from my flesh-and-blood co-workers.

I have been working on the GM assembly line in Oshawa, Ontario, for 22 years, and recently a rumour became fact. During our last round of collective bargaining we were forced to agree to management’s implementation of something called “global manufacturing systems” (GMS) in order to secure future work at our plants.

GMS is basically the Japanese model of so-called lean factory operations. It concentrates on cost savings by eliminating all forms of waste, including something they call “waste of motion.” Every movement the worker makes is monitored and timed down to the hundredth of a second.

The corporate spin on GMS is that it’s designed around a teamwork concept. They say the focus is on the operator and that the system is there to provide support to the worker. From where I stand it sure doesn’t look that way.

The first move by the company in converting the plants over to the GMS system was to out-source hundreds of jobs. All in-house non-trades maintenance jobs such as cleaners, sweepers and fork-lift battery maintainers are being eliminated and outsourced. As well, we had to agree to a decrease in our relief time and an increase in temporary staffing.

Outsourcing to logistics companies, who put parts in sequence for the various vehicle models and their options, is being hailed by the company as a safety improvement, since it means fewer forklifts operating in the plant. The obvious downside of losing the part-sorting and forklift jobs to a lower-paying supplier company is not mentioned, of course.

The teamwork concept the company plans on introducing is shaping up to be the most troubling change for us. Small groups of around eight people will be in charge of a certain area and be responsible for that area’s throughput (consistency of assembly line speed) and quality. That may sound pretty reasonable – until you look at the motivation for making such a change. Clearly the system is designed to pit worker against worker. These small groups will also be required to rotate on the various jobs in their area, going against the fundamental right of seniority we have enjoyed for many years. The time given to perform the work on a given job will coincide with the time it takes the quickest member of the team to perform the task, putting pressure on older workers and those with health issues. And disputes between workers could occur over vacation as only one member of each team will be granted their desired time off. Peer pressure over time off, rates of speed, and quality is the company’s goal here.

General Motors already has plants using the global manufacturing system, but they haven’t been able to match the Oshawa plants in quality or production scores. Our Oshawa plants have been regular winners of the J. D Power quality awards and the Harbour Report production awards. These are the best plants of all the auto manufacturers in North and South America. These changes cannot really be about quality or productivity. They’re simply about cost reduction on the backs of the workers.

GMS will not only affect those of us working for General Motors but also the thousands of workers in the supplier chain. They will feel the effect when  GMS becomes a requirement of their companies, too, in order to land supply contracts.

Toyota, Honda and General Motors are all using the global manufacturing system, so workers in Canada will all be on the same page as far as the manufacturing process is concerned. However the similarity ends there, as unions like mine have fought hard to ensure Canadians have a high standard of safety, working, and living conditions. Non-union foreign-owned companies operating assembly plants in Canada keep the wages and benefits very close to that of their unionized counterparts in an attempt to keep their employees from unionizing. In affect, our union does all the work in setting the automotive industry standards in Canada. It’s time the workers at these other companies shared in the workload of collective bargaining. Indeed, it might just turn out that these companies, by integrating their systems, could be bringing all auto workers in Canada together – as we all do the same work and face the same issues.

Unions are forced to compromise their principles as corporations take advantage of globalization and set working people on the path of concessions in a never-ending auction for jobs. Free trade is their most valuable tool when it comes to putting the screws to Canadian workers, and the government of Canada seems primed to turn the screws a lot tighter by engaging in free trade talks with Korea.

It’s tough going in the trenches these days for Canadian working people. We have shown we are able to compete on the global scale in the manufacturing sector. Our challenge is to keep our dignity and values off the bargaining table.

Unions will have a huge roll to play in ensuring that our wages and benefits continue to reflect the hard work that we do, and in keeping us safe. The global manufacturing system is a new challenge to organized labour in Canada. The road ahead may require a global, industry-wide strategy not only for the big auto giants but also for labour, in organizing. The struggle we face is not only with the transnational corporations but also with ourselves over our own ability to organize and keep up-to-date and relevant in a changing world.

The horn just blew again. It’s back to work for me. When it blows once more my shift will be over, the electronic exit doors will have been unlocked, and I’ll hustle back out to my truck and head home. Only 16 hours until the next shift, when we’ll do it all over again.

Jeff Armstrong is a member of the Canadian Auto Workers Local 222. He earned a labour studies certificate from McMaster University’s Labour Studies Program in Hamilton, Ontario, and is currently enrolled in a freelance writing course at Durham College.