Unifor, a union representing 18,000 autoworkers in Canada, will target General Motors for its next round of labor negotiations with the Big Three automakers, the union said Monday. The talks will begin Tuesday.
The union and GM will negotiate a collective bargaining agreement covering about 4,300 autoworkers in Canada. The covered facilities include the St. Catharines Propulsion Plant in St. Catharines, Ontario; the Oshawa Assembly Complex in Oshawa, Ontario; and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Center in Woodstock, Ontario.
“Our expectation is that General Motors will follow the pattern set at Ford,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a YouTube video Monday.
She said the union picked GM as its next target because Unifor holds “a lot of negotiating leverage with GM right now,” noting that the automaker’s operations in Canada are crucial to its success. The St. Catharines Propulsion Plant, where GM builds V6 and V8 engines, is a “linchpin” for the automaker’s operation in North America, Payne said. In addition, GM manufactures the highly profitable Chevrolet Silverado at its Oshawa Assembly Complex.
The announcement comes a day after unionized autoworkers in Canada represented by Unifor approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Ford Motor Co. The deal includes a 15% general wage increase over three years, a $10,000 ratification bonus for full-time employees and a $4,000 ratification bonus for part-time workers. Some workers could see wage increases of up to 25% over the life of the agreement.
It also reduces the new hire wage progression period from eight to four years.
Hourly production workers employed by Ford of Canada will now earn 35% more than similar Ford employees in the U.S., Unifor said.
Now that Unifor has signed a contract with Ford, it will use that agreement as a blueprint for renegotiating labor contracts with GM and Stellantis. But negotiations with Stellantis remain on hold until the union makes a deal with GM.
