Rebuilding manufacturing will help the economy than cutting pay.
from the CAWCanada's auto industry has been to hell and back over the last decade. 50,000 good auto jobs disappeared, due to global financial turmoil, recession, plant closures, and surging imports from offshore. In 1999 we ranked as the 4th largest auto producer in the world — an incredible national achievement. Today we aren't even in the top ten. The industry reached the breaking point in 2009 …but then pulled back from the brink, with the help of government intervention and sacrifices by auto workers and other stakeholders.
Yes, the industry has endured terrible times. But the industry, and the people who make it work, are still here. We survived. And we're still making an enormous, disproportionate contribution to Canada's GDP, exports, productivity, and innovation. 112,000 Canadians are still directly employed in auto manufacturing. Counting spin-off jobs, almost 400,000 Canadians depend on the continued presence of this vital sector.
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Highly productive industrial jobs can and should be the backbone of middle class prosperity. |
The bleeding of jobs has mostly stopped, for now. Canada's production share of overall North American sales has actually increased since the meltdown. Output and exports have partly rebounded. A few jobs have even come back (unfortunately, just a tiny proportion of the jobs that were lost). Vehicle sales are growing strongly, suggesting more opportunity (and huge corporate profits) in the years ahead.
Canada's auto sector is at a historical crossroads. We survived the crisis of 2009. Government measures (including "Canadian manufacturing footprint" deals with major automakers) were important. But what comes next? An overvalued loonie makes our costs look 25 percent more expensive than they are. And the continuing "race to the bottom" (where corporations take advantage of desperation and repression in low wage regions to boost their already-fat profits) threatens our ability to win future investments.
The future of our industry can never be guaranteed at the bargaining table. As a country, we need a strong, effective, modern strategy to preserve a far share of these good jobs. We need a National Auto Policy.
The industry
- Five major automakers operate car and light truck assembly plants in Canada: Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota. A further six firms produce buses and heavy trucks.
- Canada's auto industry also comprises a highly-developed parts sector, including manufacturers' inhouse engine and transmission plants, and over 400 independent parts facilities.
- 2,135,121 vehicles were built in Canada in 2011 (or 5,850 per day).
- The industry produced vehicles and parts worth $69 billion in 2011, (or $189 million per day).
Jobs and the economy
- The auto industry directly employs 112,000 people in Canada.
- Thousands more jobs are created to supply the industry: jobs in steel, plastics and other manufacturing and services. More jobs are created by the spending power of auto workers' paycheques.
- Auto workers' paycheques pumped $6.1 billion into the Canadian economy in 2011 (or $17 million per day).
- The major original equipment manufacturing jobs are estimated to stimulate 337,000 other jobs throughout the economy.
- Including spin-off jobs, the auto industry is responsible for 374,000 jobs across the country.
National impact
- The auto industry accounted for $53 billion worth of exports in 2011, 12 percent of the nation's total.
- Among all of Canada's sources of exports, the auto industry is second only to the oil and gas industry (but as the nation's leading manufacturing exporter the auto industry produces twice as many direct jobs).
- The value of auto industry exports is more than double those from the forestry and agriculture industries, a third more than from primary metals, and a quarter more than from mining.
- As a crucial source of high-technology investment and productivity growth, the industry boosts our national economic performance. The benefits of the auto industry are felt throughout the nation through supplier links, tax revenue and consumer spending.
Supporting our communities
- The industry supports services that we all depend upon, like health care, education and social services. Auto workers' fundraising efforts also directly support community organizations such as the United Way, food banks and women's shelters.
- In 2011, auto workers paid $1.6 billion in income, payroll and sales taxes (or $4.4 million per day).
- Most auto workers own homes, and based on average property tax rates auto workers also supported $468 million in municipal taxes in 2011 (or $1.3 million per day), helping to pay for local services.
Vital for us all
- The CAW fights for good jobs in the auto industry, which are vital for us all.
We can create good jobs in our communities
The knee-jerk assumption among many commentators, business executives, and politicians is that the only way to strengthen a globalized industry like auto is for Canadians to slash their wages. For example, the Institute for Research on Public Policy recently published a report calling for a $10-per-hour cut in wages for all autoworkers (union or nonunion). Caterpillar went further, demanding a 50-percent rollback in compensation.
Is this what we want for the future of our communities? Highly productive industrial jobs can and should be the backbone of middle class prosperity. The whole point of economic development is to improve living standards for ourselves and our children — not to join a race to the bottom we can never win.
Other countries have carved out continuing automotive success on the basis of strong, pro-active industrial strategies. They don't leave the future up to chance, or to the guidance of "market forces." They jump right in and make it happen.
It's time Canada did the same. We need a National Auto Policy.
A new vision for Canada's auto industry
The CAW believes we can sustain a viable, profitable, dynamic auto manufacturing industry that generates good jobs for the future. Canada can learn from the experience of other industrialized jurisdictions, where the auto industry still contributes to growth and prosperity (rather than job loss and decline). The key difference between Canada and jurisdictions like Germany, Korea, Japan, and even the US is not labour costs (which are high in all industrialized countries). The key difference is a willingness by government to play an active, guiding role in building an industry, and constructing an international advantage.
The CAW has proposed a bold 10-point policy program to re-establish the foundation for long-term growth and prosperity in our auto industry, so it can provide the goods jobs our communities need in decades to come. Our plan includes:
- Implement an integrated National Auto Policy
- Negotiate Canadian manufacturing footprint commitments
- A consistent and transparent auto investment program
- Public minority equity shares in OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)
- Investigate possibility of building a Canadian OEM
- Rethink automotive trade policy
- Intervene to reduce the Canadian dollar
- Building a green auto industry
- A Buy-Canadian vehicle procurement strategy
- Investing in human and physical infrastructure
Take the Good Jobs Pledge today!
Our communities need decent, well-paying, productive jobs, including in value-added export industries (like auto). Without good jobs, we can't support local businesses, pay taxes to support public services, or offer our children a decent future.
Good jobs are crucial to the well-being of our communities — no matter what job you do.
Creating and preserving good jobs into the future requires concerted effort by both business and government. It doesn't happen without taking concrete action.
To Global Corporations: You enjoy enormous opportunity in Canada, manufacturing and selling your products here. In turn, you owe something back to our economy, and our communities. I'm joining the call for you to invest more in Canadian operations and good Canadian jobs.
To Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty:
Other countries around the world support their key value-added industries (like auto) with pro-active policies, including fair trade policies. It's time Canada did the same. I'm calling on you to implement a National Auto Policy to support the Canadian manufacturing footprint long into the future, and to convene a National Jobs Summit to develop an overall strategy for keeping good jobs in Canada.
For a full description, see our 50-page policy paper, Rethinking Canada's Auto Industry: A Policy Vision to Escape the Race to the Bottom, available from the link below.
References
Rethinking Canada's Auto Industry: A Policy Vision to Escape the Race to the Bottom
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