GM Canada has reached a tentative agreement with the Unifor labor union, ending a brief 13-hour strike following the expiration of the previous labor contract last night. The tentative agreement follows the pattern set by an agreement between Unifor and Ford Motor Co. of Canada late last month. Details of the new GM agreement were not immediately available.
As GM Authority reported last week, Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, faced resistance from GM as the two parties attempted to hash out a new labor contract following ratification of the Ford agreement, the latter of which was used as a template in negotiations between Unifor and GM.
After the two sides failed to find an agreement by the October 9th deadline, Unifor called for a walkout at the GM Oshawa Assembly plant, the St. Catharines Propulsion Plant, and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Center. A total of 4,280 Unifor members were called on to strike. Unifor members include 315,000 workers total from a variety of different sectors.
“This strike is about General Motors stubbornly refusing to meet the pattern agreement. The company knows our members will never let GM break our pattern: not today, not ever,” said Unifor President Lana Payne. “The company continues to fall short on our pension demands, income supports for retired workers, and meaningful steps to transition temporary workers into permanent, full-time jobs.”
At 1:00 p.m. EDT, GM Canada says that it reached a tentative agreement with Unifor, ending the brief strike at all three of the affected GM facilities. Work was expected to resume at all three facilities this afternoon.
“This record agreement, subject to member ratification, recognizes the many contributions of our represented team members with significant increases in wages, benefits and job security while building on GM’s historic investments in Canadian manufacturing,” GM said. The automaker added that details would be shared at “the appropriate time” with respect to Unifor’s ratification process.
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Comments
That was quick.
Is CAMI not Unifor?
Cami is governed under a sep collective garment by unifor .