Union effort at Toyota Canada stirs to life

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150523/OEM/305259975/union-effort-at-toyota-canada-stirs-to-life

Plan to move Corolla to Mexico ignites fears

Neal E. Boudette Automotive News May 23, 2015 - 12:01 am ET

CAMBRIDGE, Ontario -- Just two months ago, efforts by the Canadian union Unifor to organize two Toyota Motor Corp. plants in Ontario had all but ground to a halt.

But an April announcement that Toyota will move production of the Corolla from its 27-year-old plant here to a new factory to be built in Mexico ignited fears of job cuts among Toyota workers. And now the Unifor campaign is springing back to life.

The shift likely signals the start of a drama that will play out over the rest of 2015 and will determine whether the plant here and another in nearby Woodstock will become the first unionized Toyota plants in North America. Union organizers said they hope to have a vote on representation by the end of the year.

"This news with the Corolla has really served to ramp up things again," said Lee Sperduti, a team leader in the final assembly area of the Cambridge plant who is working to build support for Unifor. "Here they are, sending the bread and butter to Mexico. It was an eye-opener."

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