Canadian auto workers to target General Motors after deal with Ford is ratified

Canadian auto workers say General Motors will be their next target after members ratified a new three-year labor contract with Ford.

Unifor, which represents about 4,300 workers at three GM facilities in Canada, said Monday it reached a strong deal with Ford and now will try to negotiate a pattern agreement with GM.

President Lana Payne said the union has a lot of bargaining leverage with GM because a factory in Oshawa, Ontario, is working around the clock to build profitable Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks.

“I don’t expect this to be an easy round of talks, and I want to make sure our union is best positioned to move this pattern forward for the benefit of all members, active and retired,” she said in a statement.

Read more:

• Ford Canada workers accept new 3-year deal that includes 15% wage increase

• Unifor autoworkers reach tentative deal with Ford

• Unifor autoworkers extend talks with Ford with strike looming

Workers at Ford of Canada ratified a new deal on Sunday that raises base hourly pay for production workers by almost 20 per cent over three years, and by more than 25 per cent for trade workers. It also gives permanent workers a $10,000 bonus and adds a cost-of-living adjustment, a mechanism that adjusts wages in line with inflation.

Ford described the pact as a 15 per cent wage increase over the three-year life of the agreement. But, according to the union, that figure doesn’t include the compounding of each annual increase or the initial cost-of-living increase, both of which should increase workers’ actual pay.

So far Unifor has been able to avoid going on strike against any of the Detroit automakers, unlike its U.S. counterpart, the United Auto Workers. The UAW has been on strike for 11 days with targeted factory and warehouse shutdowns at GM, Ford, and Stellantis, makers of Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, and other vehicles.