Unifor has picked General Motors Canada as its subsequent bargaining goal, a day after union members narrowly ratified a three-year collective settlement with Ford Motor Co. of Canada that set the sample for this 12 months’s auto talks.
The union secured double-digit wage beneficial properties, a path again to outlined profit pension plans and one-time bonuses of $10,000 for full-time staff in a Sept. 19 tentative settlement with Ford that got here following a last-minute firm supply and a 24-hour strike-deadline extension. Fifty-four per cent of Unifor members voted to ratify the deal in two days of voting over the weekend, narrowly assembly the required majority wanted to approve the deal.
With members at Ford locked into a brand new collective settlement that gained’t expire till Sept. 20, 2026, Unifor will flip its consideration to GM.
Unifor President Lana Payne stated the union will likely be on the desk with the corporate beginning tomorrow and expects GM to “follow the pattern set at Ford.”
“We hold a lot of negotiating leverage with GM right now. Their Oshawa facility is working around the clock producing very lucrative pickup trucks. The St. Catharines engine and transmission facility, like Ford’s powertrain operations, is a lynchpin for GM’s North American operations,” she stated in an replace to members.
GM has roughly 3,100 hourly staff at its Oshawa Assembly Plant, 1,100 in St. Catharines, in addition to 80 at its Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre. Unifor additionally represents about 1,500 at GM’s CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ont., however members at that facility fall underneath one other contract.
As it did with the opposite two members of the Detroit Three, Unifor opened negotiations with GM Aug. 10, earlier than pausing them Aug. 29 to give attention to Ford.
GM Canada spokesperson Jennifer Wright stated the corporate welcomes the resumption of talks.
“We look forward to working with our Unifor partners to build a competitive future that also recognizes our employees’ contributions to our shared success,” she stated in an electronic mail.
Payne stated she doesn’t count on talks to be simple however needs to ensure Unifor is “best positioned to move this pattern forward.”
The union would have much less leverage participating with Stellantis, she added, due to the Windsor Assembly Plant’s upcoming retooling.
“There is still a lot of necessary information we need to receive from Stellantis about the forthcoming Brampton assembly investment and retool. And I believe we need to have greater clarity on this before our talks commence.”
Source: canada.autonews.com