Fiat Chrysler Next in Line for Contract Talks; Brampton Assembly a Major Bargaining Point

After securing hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from General Motors and a new lease on life for the Oshawa assembly plant, Canadian Detroit Three autoworkers union Unifor is sharpening its bargaining pens to tackle Fiat Chrysler.

Today, the union identified the automaker as the company next in line to hammer out a contract deal with. After the GM deal, FCA will need to promise something big, and that could mean a commitment to an aging plant filed with aging models.

Under pattern bargaining, the first deal struck sets the pattern for the next round of negotiations. FCA has three facilities in Canada — a Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant that builds the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Challenger, a Windsor plant that produces Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica minivans, and a casting plant in Etobicoke that manufactures aluminum pistons and die castings.

All eyes will be on Brampton during this bargaining period. Windsor already saw significant investment in the lead-up to Pacifica production, including some government cash afterwards. However, the Brampton facility is old, has one of the oldest paint shops in the industry, and an uncertain future.

It will take more than just a paint shop to make Unifor happy. A deal will likely hinge on promises of future products for Brampton.

“We have one simple message for all the Detroit Three automakers: there will be no deal without commitments to new investments in Canada,” Dias said in a statement.

FCA’s future product schedule (which has proven to be very malleable in the past) calls for the Dodge Charger and Challenger to adopt the Alfa Romeo Giulia platform in 2018. Money will be needed to prep the plant for that its arrival. However, rumors persist about the timing.

The Chrysler 300’s future is more of a mystery.

The automaker’s plans don’t mention a Giulia platform swap for the 300. There could be a redesign in 2020, or a discontinuation, or — as CEO Sergio Marchionne once mulled publicly — a switch to the Pacifica’s front-wheel-drive platform. That would take a product away from Brampton.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]