I have been reading through the Canadian Auto Workers union bargaining updates on their website; so far it's been the best source of information I've been able to find on the actual stances of the CAW and the U of M.
The list can be found here:
http://www.caw3007.ca/bargaining2007.htmThough the only document worth reading is this one:
http://www.caw3007.ca/bargainingupdate10-4-07.docI've been reading through that document, and I have to say, I'm not very impressed. There are a lot of basic grammatical errors for one, they resort to attacking the U of M administration instead of supporting why they believe they should be paid more (and that may very well be true), and it sounds like their main problem is with their managers. Why don't they give in to some of the U of M's concessions on the condition that they hire new, better managers, or (even better) promote current workers to management positions? I have to say that a lot of their demands seem unreasonable to me. $5000 signing bonuses? That doesn't make sense for a lot of positions the CAW fills. The CAW themselves say "The proposal would see a food service worker who has only worked a few hours receive $5000 as a signing bonus." That doesn't rub me the right way. A lot of the CAW's demands seem to me to be unreasonable.
On the other side, the U of M is being quite stingy. A 2% raise is pretty conservative, and might not even cover yearly inflation in the cost of living. The CAW mentions that the U of M has in the past hired contractors to do work that CAW members could do much more cheaply. That seems ridiculous to me--especially since the cost of hiring those contractors is passed onto us students.
It seems to me that both sides have their position, and their negotiation has reached no compromises. Both sides are acting quite unprofessionally, and a lot of students remain ignorant of what each side wants because information is relatively difficult to locate.
