Lana Payne speaks to delegates at the Toronto Convention Center on August 10, 2022, after being elected president of UNIFOR, Canada’s largest private sector union.
Richard Lautens | Toronto Star | Getty Images
DETROIT – Workers’ strike now an international issue General Motors Detroit automakers fail to reach tentative deal for about 4,300 workers by Monday united union of canada.
Canadian auto workers will join about 9,200 United Auto Workers members in striking at two U.S. General Motors assembly plants and 18 parts and distribution centers. The strike in the United States began on September 15 and has continued to expand in scale since then.
A new strike in Ontario, Canada, affects an assembly plant that makes light- and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado trucks; makes some V-6 and V-8 engines used in a variety of vehicles including the Chevrolet Equinox; and makes a variety of car and truck parts stamping facilities.
Days before Canada’s strike against General Motors, Unifor President Lana Payne said on Friday that the union Encountered “resistance” The automaker provided information on some “important elements” of the tentative deal.
Payne pointed to worker classification as a major issue in the agreement, which is modeled on agreements ratified between unions and labor unions. Ford.
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union picketed the General Motors Lansing Delta plant in Delta Township, Michigan, on September 29, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
“We have made it clear to the company that there will not be a deal until this issue is resolved,” Payne said in an online video to Unifor members on Friday. “We are still a few days away from the deadline and we have some Major issues remain unresolved.”
She said other issues included universal health benefits for retirees and future product investment commitments.
Unifor represents 18,000 Canadian workers at the Detroit automaker and has a more traditional approach to negotiations than its U.S. counterparts. Canadian unions are negotiating with each automaker individually, using the deal first struck with Ford last month as a “model” for GM and Chrysler parent companies star.
Ford’s three-year deal includes hourly wage increases of up to 25%, restarting cost-of-living benefits to account for inflation, shortening the timeline for workers to reach maximum pay, and other new or changed benefits.
Agreement covers more than 5,600 workers at Ford’s Canadian facilities 54% approved Voting workers.
This traditional, patterned approach to bargaining runs counter to the UAW’s new strategy of bargaining with all three automakers simultaneously.
The UAW has gradually increased the intensity of its strikes since the shutdown began when the two sides failed to reach a tentative agreement by Sept. 14. Targeted or “standing” strikes are taking place, rather than a nationwide strike where all factories strike at the same time.
Currently, only 25,200 workers, or about 17% of UAW members covered by expiring contracts with the Detroit automaker, are on strike. UAW President Shawn Fain previously said the union would increase the number of work stoppages based on progress in negotiations.
The strike resulted in the layoffs of thousands of other UAW members, including about 2,175 workers at other GM plants. Most notably, the Detroit automaker was forced to suspend production at a Kansas assembly plant that makes the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and Cadillac XT4 crossover.
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