Unifor Ratifies GM Labor Agreement, Oshawa Saved

by Matt Posky

Published: November 10th, 2020

unifor ratifies gm labor agreement oshawa saved

Unifor members overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract with General Motors, effectively ending the union’s 2020 auto bargaining with Detroit automakers. Members backed the contract with 85 percent approval and secured meaningful investments into Canada’s automotive industry, including the $1 billion (USD) investment that saves Oshawa Assembly. It’s an important victory for the union and the Canadian auto workers it represents.

“This contract solidifies and boldly builds on GM’s Canadian footprint, with a $1.3 billion dollar investment that brings 1,700 jobs to Oshawa plus more than $109 million to in-source new transmission work for the Corvette and support continued V8 engine production in St. Catharines,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Jobs at all three Canadian sites are secure for the life of this agreement, including at the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre, which will also see upgrades.”

Dias added that the agreement amounts to almost $5 billion (Canadian, along with all subsequent values) once Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford Motor Co had been accounted for.

From Unifor:

The Ford deal reached in September includes $1.95 billion in investments to bring battery electric vehicle production to Oakville and a new engine derivative to Windsor and the Fiat Chrysler agreement includes more than $1.5 billion in investment in a state-of-the-art platform to build both Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles.

All three contracts include support from both the federal and Ontario government.

General Motors had already confirmed that it would immediately begin investing into the Oshawa plant to manufacturer Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups after it had received government support — which seems all but guaranteed. The Ontario government signaled it was already prepared on Monday and was waiting on the federal government to make a move.

Meanwhile, the St. Catharines powertrain factory will receive $84 million in investments under the agreement. It’s going to remain responsible for engine production (V6s and V8s) while also doing transmissions for the Chevrolet Corvette. The latter program will take several months to setup and will reportedly begin the necessary retooling ASAP.

The new three year agreement also includes 5 percent increases to hourly rates, a $7,250 productivity and quality bonus, $4,000 in inflation protection bonuses, new shift premiums, improved benefits, and a reintroduction of the 20 percent wage differential for skilled trades. Unifor also convinced GM to establish an anti-racism action plan, which includes hiring what it referenced as Racial Justice Advocates, and providing employees with up to 10 paid days of domestic violence leave.

[Image: BobNoah/Shutterstock]

#AutoUnions #AutomotiveIndustry #Canada #CollectiveBargaining #Fca #Ford #GM #IndustryNews #JerryDias #Unifor #UnionNews #UniforNational

Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

More by Matt Posky

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 11 comments

Mikey on Nov 11, 2020

Thank you.... Yeah, I'm still here I lurk more than I post.. The rumour mill was all over this a month ago. GM started recalling tradesmen in late summer. With only a handful 250-300 people keeping 3 -4 stamping presses running, it seemed odd to need more staff.. ? On a sunny day late October I took the Mustang out for an end of season cruise past the GM plant....Lots of vehicles in the parking lots ..? Several previously closed dock doors, wide open ?? More than a few hard hats walking around ? I figured something was up. Around these parts November sunny days are few and far between ...Good news from GM... is even more rare !!! Kudos to GM and UNIFOR !!!!.

Like Reply
Jeff Semenak on Nov 15, 2020

Racial Justice Advocates? What the Holy Hell, does that plush feather-bedding have to do with building Cars and Trucks?

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Honda1 Unions were needed back in the early days, not needed know. There are plenty of rules and regulations and government agencies that keep companies in line. It's just a money grad and nothing more. Fain is a punk!
1995 SC If the necessary number of employees vote to unionize then yes, they should be unionized. That's how it works.
Sobhuza Trooper That Dave Thomas fella sounds like the kind of twit who is oh-so-quick to tell us how easy and fun the bus is for any and all of your personal transportation needs. The time to get to and from the bus stop is never a concern. The time waiting for the bus is never a concern. The time waiting for a connection (if there is one) is never a concern. The weather is never a concern. Whatever you might be carrying or intend to purchase is never a concern. Nope, Boo Cars! Yeah Buses! Buses rule!Needless to say, these twits don't actual take the damn bus.
MaintenanceCosts Nobody here seems to acknowledge that there are multiple use cases for cars.Some people spend all their time driving all over the country and need every mile and minute of time savings. ICE cars are better for them right now.Some people only drive locally and fly when they travel. For them, there's probably a range number that works, and they don't really need more. For the uses for which we use our EV, that would be around 150 miles. The other thing about a low range requirement is it can make 120V charging viable. If you don't drive more than an average of about 40 miles/day, you can probably get enough electrons through a wall outlet. We spent over two years charging our Bolt only through 120V, while our house was getting rebuilt, and never had an issue.Those are extremes. There are all sorts of use cases in between, which probably represent the majority of drivers. For some users, what's needed is more range. But I think for most users, what's needed is better charging. Retrofit apartment garages like Tim's with 240V outlets at every spot. Install more L3 chargers in supermarket parking lots and alongside gas stations. Make chargers that work like Tesla Superchargers as ubiquitous as gas stations, and EV charging will not be an issue for most users.
MaintenanceCosts I don't have an opinion on whether any one plant unionizing is the right answer, but the employees sure need to have the right to organize. Unions or the credible threat of unionization are the only thing, history has proven, that can keep employers honest. Without it, we've seen over and over, the employers have complete power over the workers and feel free to exploit the workers however they see fit. (And don't tell me "oh, the workers can just leave" - in an oligopolistic industry, working conditions quickly converge, and there's not another employer right around the corner.)