General Motors and Canadian auto workers’ union, Unifor, have reached a tentative contract agreement, marking an end to a strike and setting a template for future negotiations.
The strike’s end: Approximately 4,300 workers at two GM factories and a parts warehouse initiated a strike, which was called off once the tentative contract was agreed.
* Workers are set to return to their duties on Tuesday afternoon after Unifor President Lana Payne stated GM had little option but to follow a pattern agreement previously made with Ford.
* The agreement includes areas initially fought over by GM such as pensions, retiree income supports, and a conversion of full-time temporary workers into permanent employees over the agreement’s lifetime.
Agreement specifics: GM reported that it reached the deal with Unifor early Tuesday, emphasizing it includes significant pay and benefit increases, as well as added job security.
* The new contract covers workers at GM’s assembly plant in Oshawa, a powertrain plant in St. Catharines, and a parts distribution center in Woodstock.
* Unifor stated the deal includes pay raises of nearly 20% for production workers and 25% for skilled trades, alongside restoring cost-of-living pay raises starting in December 2024.
* Provisions for temporary workers to receive pay raises were also included, and those with at least one year of service would attain permanent jobs.
Next steps: Once the GM deal is ratified in an upcoming vote, the only remaining automaker without a Unifor contract will be Jeep maker Stellantis.
* Payne stated that talks are expected to begin soon with Stellantis, which has the largest manufacturing footprint in Canada out of the Detroit automakers.
* She predicted that negotiations with Stellantis could be challenging, based on the recent bargaining process with GM.
Broader context: This strike comes on the heels of a newly ratified three-year labor contract between Unifor and Ford last month.
* Unlike Unifor, the United Auto Workers in the US is currently experiencing strikes against Detroit automakers, affecting five targeted factories and 38 parts distribution centers.
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