Dive Brief:
- The autoworkers' strike against General Motors in Canada ended Tuesday — the same day it started — after the automaker agreed to the same collective bargaining terms as Ford Motor Co.
- The tentative agreement covers nearly 4,300 autoworkers employed by GM at three facilities in Ontario, Canada, including the Oshawa Assembly Complex and Customer Care and Aftersales Stamped Products plant, St. Catharines Propulsion Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.
- Locals 222, 199 and 636 will soon vote to approve the Unifor’s tentative agreement with GM.
Dive Insight:
Unifor initially targeted Ford in its collective bargaining negotiations with the Big Three automakers. Now that the union has signed a contract with Ford and, tentatively, GM, it will use those agreements to renegotiate with Stellantis. The union, however, has not said when those negotiations will begin.
Unifor members employed by GM in Canada went on strike at midnight Tuesday after the automaker failed to agree to the bargaining pattern established by Ford.
Last month, Unifor National President Lana Payne said the union picked GM as its next target because 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 North American operations. GM also manufactures the highly profitable Chevrolet Silverado pickup at its Oshawa Assembly plant.
Unifor’s strategy appears to have paid off.
“When faced with the shutdown of these key facilities General Motors had no choice but to get serious at the table and agree to the pattern,” Payne said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The solidarity of our members has led to a comprehensive tentative agreement that follows the pattern set at Ford Motor Company to the letter, including all items that company had initial[ly] fought us on such as pensions, retiree income supports and converting full-time temporary workers into permanent employees over the life of the agreement.”
The tentative agreement with GM 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 temporary part-time workers. It also reduces the new hire wage progression period from eight to four years.
Under the agreement, general wages will rise 10% in year one, with increases of 2% in year two and 3% in year three. Base hourly wages will also increase nearly 20% for production workers and 25% for skilled trades over three years. GM also agreed to restore cost-of-living adjustments beginning in December 2024.
Full-time, temporary workers with at least one year of seniority at ratification will also be converted to permanent employees.
The contract also provides improved pension benefits, including a plan to transition Unifor members with defined contribution plans and new hires to a defined benefit plan on Jan. 1, 2025. Retirees and current autoworkers will also see health benefit improvements and receive two more paid holidays, Unifor said.
“This record agreement, subject to member ratification, recognizes the many contributions of our represented team members with significant increases in wages, benefits and job security while building on GM’s historic investments in Canadian manufacturing,” Marissa West, president and managing director at GM Canada, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
