Unifor autoworkers extend talks with Ford with strike looming
Posted September 18, 2023 10:07 pm.
Last Updated September 18, 2023 11:27 pm.
Unifor autoworkers were in legal strike position, but have extended talks with Ford Motor Co. by 24 hours to see if the two sides can reach a new contract.
“The union received a substantive offer from the employer minutes before the deadline and bargaining is continuing throughout the night,” the union said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Unifor is extending negotiations with Ford Motor Company for a 24-hour period.
The union received a substantive offer from the employer minutes before the deadline and bargaining is continuing throughout the night. Unifor members should continue to maintain strike readiness.…
— Unifor (@UniforTheUnion) September 19, 2023
In a late afternoon Monday update, the union said it was telling its 5,600 members at Ford to be ready for all scenarios, including strike action, when the contract expires at the end of the day.
Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a Monday night video statement that the union would be on strike after the collective agreement expires, but a statement on Unifor’s website says Unifor Ford members should remain on shift unless they receive explicit instructions from the union to do otherwise.
Unifor has said it is focused on increasing wages, improving pensions, and securing good jobs in a future set to be dominated by electric vehicles.
The talks continue as autoworkers represented by the United Auto Workers in the United States are on the picket line.
Some 13,000 U.S. autoworkers started striking last week, targeting a plant at each of the Detroit Three automakers.
