Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza told his members that they should not be forced to pay further for the fallout from a global economic meltdown.

"To the critics out there, this is not about Canadian auto workers' wages and benefits. This is about a global financial crisis. This is about a market share decline in the United States that would force us to work for nothing -- if we bought into the logic it was about us," he told a meeting in Toronto on Friday called to discuss the auto crisis.

"And if we work for nothing, the industry wouldn't survive."

In May, the CAW signed deals with GM and Chrysler, somewhat patterned after a settlement with Ford, that made some concessions:

  • Freeze wages at $34 per hour this year
  • Cut annual vacations by one week for a one-time payment of $3,500
  • Eliminate a $25,000 retirement allowance
  • Include a prescription drug co-pay of 10 per cent

At the time, one industry analyst said Canadian labour costs were still $20 per hour higher than in other places where autos could be built.

Shortly after that deal was signed, GM announced it would close its light truck plant in Oshawa, thus eliminating 2,600 jobs -- something that triggered a furious series of protests from the CAW. The plant will now close in May 2009.

The Big Three have been facing troubles for years as buyers have gravitated to Asian vehicles that are smaller and more fuel-efficient.

However, the industry's problems boiled into a full crisis with the credit crunch that has deeply restricted access to money for banks, businesses and consumers alike.

The Big Three have been seeking US$25 billion in financial help from the U.S. government, with some talk that one or two of the three might be forced into bankruptcy if no help arrives.

In Canada, the federal government has extended help by the tens of billions of dollars to the financial sector to thaw the credit freeze.

Lewenza blasted the federal Tories for not announcing any help for the auto sector in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's economic update on Thursday.

The minister told CTV Toronto on Thursday he wants the auto industry to present a plan on how it can survive, "and hopefully there will be a way through this, but it has to be a good use of taxpayers' money."

Jim Stanford, the CAW's economist, claimed class bias on the part of the government.

"I think it boils down to a cultural prejudice against people who work with their hands, who work in a factory, whose collars are blue instead of white," he told the meeting.

"It's fine for governments to support the high fliers down on Wall Street and Bay Street because they're important people and we'll take care of them. But don't you dare support an industry where real men and women work producing real goods and services and who wear work clothes instead of suits."

The auto industry supports about 400,000 jobs in Ontario and contributes $28 billion annually to the provincial economy.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss