Dive Brief:
- Nearly 4,300 autoworkers in Canada went on strike against General Motors at midnight on Tuesday, according to Unifor, a union representing 18,000 autoworkers in Canada.
- The strike shut down operations at three GM 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.
- Unifor said Locals 222, 199 and 636 will strike against GM until it agrees to a labor contract similar to the one Ford Motor Co. agreed to in September.
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, it’s using that agreement as a blueprint for renegotiating labor contracts with GM and Stellantis. Unifor said last month that it would target GM for the next round of negotiations.
At the time, Unifor National President Lana Payne said the union expected GM to agree to the same terms as Ford. But the automaker hasn’t met Unifor’s expectations.
“This strike is about General Motors stubbornly refusing to meet the pattern agreement. The company knows our members will never let GM break our pattern — not today — not ever,” Payne said in a statement Tuesday. “The company continues to fall short on our pension demands, income supports for retired workers, and meaningful steps to transition temporary workers into permanent, full-time jobs.”
GM Canada said in a statement that the sides had “made very positive progress on several key priorities” but had not yet reached a deal.
“There are some final outstanding items to be resolved at the bargaining table,” Marissa West, president and managing director at GM Canada, said in an emailed statement. “We are committed to quickly reaching a new collective agreement so that we can all get back to work while positioning both our people and GM Canada for continued success in the future.”
Last month, Payne 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. In addition, GM manufactures the highly profitable Chevrolet Silverado pickup at its Oshawa Assembly plant.
GM’s CAMI Assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada, will continue to operate normally. A separate agreement with Unifor covers the plant’s autoworkers.
Late last month, more than half (54%) of unionized autoworkers represented by Unifor in Canada voted to approve a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Ford. 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. 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. Ford also agreed to restore cost-of-living adjustments.
Hourly production workers employed by Ford of Canada will now earn 35% more than similar Ford employees in the U.S.
Unifor’s negotiations with Stellantis will remain on hold until the union reaches an agreement with GM.
