One relatively small difference in the negotiating of the UFCW and the Auto, airline industry is the food business, while always competetive is not under the financial strain the airline workers were\are under. The Auto industry is under more pressure than the "threat" in Ontario by Walmart. The plant in quebec did close.
Is Buzz securing minimum wage jobs, is the UFCW securing part-time employment? How many part-time in the UFCW warehouse? How many in the auto factories?
The truth about the ufcw er ah the caw and biz unionism
Where i work we are about to face a decision on which union will repersent us.At work i heard about this site.I heard how it was a site totally dedicated to doing nothing but slamming the ufcw so i came here to get information then i was fascinated by the open forum, i thought this would be a great place to get info on both sides but to my disappointment not much information about the caw was presented here or at work for workers to make the informed choice necassary. So i have found myself spending the last few weeks doing my research since we are already presented with the dark side of the ufcw i thought it only fair to shed some light on caw practises. So here goes
There has been alot of moaning about the business friendly ufcw and we have heard how the caw would never do such a thing like give up sweetheart deals to employers. Really read and judge for yourself http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/sep2002/caw-s17.shtml
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/oct2002/caw-o19.shtml
http://www.wsws.org/public_html/prioriss/iwb11-11/caw.htm
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jul2002/nav-j20.shtml
We have heard further about the immoral and corrupt practises of the ufcw but i found this an interesting read about the the caw and union soilidarity and how much the caw really cares about the overall effect they have had and are having on the working class through out the western hemisphere.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jan2003/acan-j28.shtml
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jan2003/acan-j28.shtml
seems we will be up the same creek guess we just get to pick the capitan 
Fed Up - do you think you will actually get to pick the captain? Or has all, somewhat been decided already..?
Not sure how many part timers in the auto factories nor am i sure how many contract workers are working side by side with caw employees.I believe we pick our capitan when we pick our union but it seems to me you are just voting on who to give union dues to.
I'll give you my own opinion of both unions Fed Up, for whatever it might be worth to you. I've never been a member of either the UFCW or the CAW but I know a lot about both. Let me say right off the top that neither is perfect and neither impresses me as a truly democratic member-driven organization (I don't think there are many/any mainstream unions that would fit that bill).
That said, however, the CAW is in my view the better of the two. Why?
Superior contracts and a much better overall track record at collective bargaining. No doubt about it, the CAW has not always delivered big jumps in wages and benefits but it has resisted the trend to concession bargaining probably much more aggressively than any other union and certainly much more than the UFCW. I think that one of the major reasons that you don't see a proliferation of part time jobs in the auto industry is because the union has resisted the casualization of work rather than agreeing to it in exchange for more new members.
I am not aware that backroom dealing is common within the CAW. Unions that do backroom negotiating (especially to the extend that the UFCW does it) put me off simply because I wouldn't trust them. When backroom dealing happens, members really can't trust anything their representatives tell them or have any confidence that their union isn't telling them one thing and doing something else behind their backs.
Based on what I know of both unions, I would say that the CAW is the more democratic of the two. Having said that, I don't doubt for a minute that unseating a long serving CAW local president would not be easy nor would it be easy (or possible) for a rank and file member to unseat ruling pres Hargrove, the CAW has not rid itself of democracy to the extent that the UFCW has.
The CAW is the only mainstream union that I'm aware of that openly acknowledged that sexism and racism were problems within the union and actually took some meaningful steps to try to change that.
I am not aware that the CAW persecutes its critics the way that the UFCW does. I'm not aware of any lawsuits by the CAW against members who have criticized its leaders or taken issue with corruption and other problems.
Those, to me, are the reasons that would tip the scale in favour of the CAW for me if I had to choose between them or the UFCW.
Now, on the negative side of the ledger, here are the things that I don't especially like about the CAW. (All of these apply to the UFCW and most mainstream unions but I mention them to make it clear that I'm not a raving fan of theirs by any stretch.)
They are a big bureaucratic union that is still pretty conventional. They have an huge layer of biz agents and other paid staffers who I think are a big buffer between the members and the leaders.
The leaders are not exactly open minded. They have definite views on what's good for the members (whether the members like it or not) and don't strike me as people who are willing to question their own beliefs and biases.
Although the CAW has gone further than a lot of unions in advocating equality for women, they are still a male dominated organization.
I think that all things considered they pour more effort into their auto industry units than other units (their abrupt settlement of the Dominion Stores strike in Nfld. is an example of that).
You have to buy the same old ideological package with the CAW as you do with any other mainstream union.
While they don't persecute their critics with the zeal of the UFCW, they don't strike me as a union that's encouraging its members to speak out, think for themselves or engage in open discussion of difficult or taboo subjects.
OK those are my main beefs with the CAW. If it were up to me, I'd look at a number of different unions or consider starting one of my own. You may not have the time to do any of those however since the open period is only 3 months and I gather it's coming up fast.
Whatever you decide, consider all the factors that you think are important and encourage others to do the same. I still think inviting the leaders to an open debate or meet the candidates event would be a good idea.
"I think that all things considered they pour more effort into their auto industry units than other units (their abrupt settlement of the Dominion Stores strike in Nfld. is an example of that)."
Is there anyone who posts here who works for Dominion ,or knows someone,who in turn could give us thier own opinion of how the CAW handled the situation. Also ,with actual stats,can they compare the contract to that one swindled by the UFCW in the RCSS accord?
I belong to a newly certified CAW local,for what it is worth have a look at this forum and judge for yourself.
http://www.paidperhr.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2&sid=3b95b37b3ebe254363a7134afaefd3e8
(truck builders forum)
Please try not to laugh too hard........
If the caw had got the workers anything more than the, RCCS deal that includes hundreds of people not yet employed, they would have had a freakin' parade. They went on strike and got less. That is the Basil Hargrove secret concession. The money lost by the company is nothing. A six week strike equals a pay raise 2.5% over three years. That does not include the personal set back financially.
Does Buzz take strike pay everytime he asks the members to go out on strike, but don't say I told you to do it line.
Damm bigbudha that is wonderful that members of a union have and are allowed a web forum . Can you find one for UFCW for me? I am not familiar with UFCW web forums, surely there are some. I was made aware of this CAW web forum for some time now.
gg that is one hell of a feat of mental gymnastics. Selling a bunch of future members out for a payment of $1.3 million to the union and lots and lots of future dues paying heads is somehow better than getting a modest pay increase for a bunch of existing members. That's brilliant. Have you considered that the UFCW's sell out in Ontario played a contributing role in Loblaws' demands for concessions in Nfld?