Employment centre for auto parts workers set to open in Oshawa

A new centre will open this month in Oshawa to provide skills retraining and employment services for auto parts workers affected by the assembly line closure at the local General Motors plant.

The “action centre” is funded by the Ontario government and independent parts suppliers (IPS) in the area. The centre will be open to Unifor members affected by the assembly line closure, including security officers at Securitas and IPS workers at Lear Corporation Whitby, Robinson Solutions, Marek Hospitality, Syncreon, Auto Warehousing Canada, Inteva Products, Oakley Industries and CEVA Logistics.

The investment includes more than $780,000 through Ontario’s Rapid Re-employment and Training Service, which through action centres provides coordinated community response in labour adjustment situations and a one-stop spot for support.

“This is a peer-led centre ensuring that the support our members receive comes from an authentic place, from people who all know each other’s individual needs and the assistance is that much more likely to be successful,” says Colin James, Unifor Local 222 president, in a statement.

The assembly line stopped Dec. 18, 2019, a little more than a year after GM announced it would close the plant citing market changes and a need to double down on electric vehicle investment.

The plant has been in operation since 1953, and an estimated 2,600 unionized workers have been affected. About 300 will continue work in a section of the plant after GM spends $170 million to transform it into a parts operation.