Canadian auto workers say General Motors will be their next target after union members ratified a new three-year labor agreement with Ford.
Unifor, which represents about 4,300 workers at three GM facilities in Canada, announced Monday that it has reached a solid agreement with Ford and will now attempt to negotiate a model agreement with GM.
Union President Lana Payne said her organization has significant leverage to negotiate with GM because a plant in Oshawa, Ont., is working around the clock to assemble profitable Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks.
“I do not expect this to be an easy round of negotiations, and I want to ensure that our union is in the best position to move this model forward for the benefit of all members, working and retired,” he said in a statement.
Ford Canada workers on Sunday ratified a new agreement that increases the base hourly wage for production workers by nearly 20% over three years, and by more than 25% for commercial workers. It also gives permanent workers a $10,000 bonus and adds a cost-of-living adjustment, a mechanism that adjusts salaries based on inflation.
Ford described the agreement as a 15% pay increase over the three-year term of the agreement. But according to the union, this figure does not include the accumulation of each annual increase or the initial increase in the cost of living, which should lead to an increase in workers' real wages.
Unifor has so far avoided a strike against Detroit automakers, unlike its American counterpart, the United Auto Workers. The UAW has been on strike for 11 days with selective closures of plants and warehouses at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which make Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and other car brands.
