TORonTO – After having approved a new collective agreement at Chrysler, the CAW is now calling for the implementation of a national auto policy.

In a statement CAW President Ken Lewenza said, One of our objectives coming into these talks was to position our industry for future growth and success, and we did as much as we possibly could on that front.

But without a comprehensive sector development strategy, the future of auto manufacturing in Canada remains uncertain, at best.

The comparison was made to other major auto-producing nations such as Germany and Brazil who have a national auto policy. Lewenza suggested a national policy could lay a foundation for ongoing competitiveness and prosperity in the auto industry.

He also stressed the need to avoid a race-to-the-bottom on working conditions. He said the unio is going to re-double its effort to win the active support of the federal government on this issue.

The CAW has a campaign out called “Re-Think Canadas Auto Industry” with proposals on how to develop a transparent auto investment policy, build a green industry, and a re-think on automotive trade policy, among others.

The CAW represents 21,000 workers at the Detroit Three auto companies, including 8,000 Chrysler workers.