Unifor Enters Bargaining Talks With General Motors
With only General Motors left in pattern bargaining, the Canadian union has secured electric vehicle investments from Ford and Fiat Chrysler.
The Canadian union “Unifor” has set a November 4th strike deadline in contract talks with General Motors. A work stoppage would begin the next day if a tentative agreement is not reached by then.
The beginning of formal negotiations with GM follows the union’s ratification of a new deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Represented workers voted 78% in favor of that contract, which will see the automaker commit to installing a platform for electric vehicle assembly at its Windsor plant.
“We have a paint shop that’s probably worth about $800-plus-million. So the question is what can be done in Oshawa.” — Jerry Dias, Unifor President
The facility, which lost 1,500 jobs over the summer, currently makes the Chrysler Pacifica and Voyager minivans. With FCA’s investment set to create 2,000 new jobs in the coming years, union president Jerry Dias says the benefits outweigh the unknowns surrounding the plant’s current lineup.
“It’s tough to predict where the volumes are going to end up with those products,” says Dias. “But when you combine the new platform that will launch in 2024 and the possibilities that exist with building new vehicles — and we know that the third shift will be back.”
Dias says laid-off workers with recall rights will start returning to the Windsor plant in 2023, as part of the production ramp-up to a yet-to-be-determined electric vehicle built using the platform.
With the union now turning its attention to General Motors, the final Detroit automaker in this round of pattern bargaining, Dias says the company’s Oshawa, Ontario plant will be a focus in talks.
“We have a huge facility that’s sitting there,” says Dias. “We have a paint shop that’s probably worth about $800-plus-million. So the question is what can be done in Oshawa?”
Dias says negotiators will also be looking for General Motors to invest in its Saint Catherines, Ontario powertrain plant.
Click on the player above to hear Auto Trader automotive analyst Michelle Krebs discuss the FCA deal and what’s next in pattern bargaining.
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