Canadian auto union agrees to GM, Chrysler deals

CAW President Buzz Hargrove said the deals keep the automakers labor costs essentially the same as they are now. A deal with Ford Motor Co. last month also kept the company's labor costs essentially the same as they are now, the union said.

Hargrove said the agreements prevent a two-tier wage system used in the U.S. where new hires would be paid about half the hourly wages of older employees. The deals also freeze wages.

The CAW also received a commitment from GM on investments to produce new vehicles at a plant in Oshawa, Ontario, a key demand.

The Chrysler agreement reflected many of the basics already included in the other deals.

GM and Chrysler declined to comment on the agreements until the ratification process is done.

Hargrove said the membership will vote on the new GM deal on Friday and the new Chrysler deal on Saturday.

"This is a good agreement. It protects as many jobs as we could," Hargrove said. "This truly is a win win in a difficult time."

The current contracts cover about 22,000 GM and Chrysler workers.

The contracts do not include what the automakers got from the United Auto Workers in the U.S. last fall -a lower-tier wage for new hires of around $14 per hour, about half that of a current UAW production worker.