Unifor has its sights set on Ford Motor Co. of Canada as it looks to set a pattern for this year’s bargaining talks with the Detroit 3.
Union President Lana Payne on Tuesday picked Ford as Unifor’s target automaker — three weeks after hinting she was leaning toward focusing on the company that employs about 5,500 union members in Canada to lead off this year’s contract talks.
The union opened the 2023 round of bargaining in Toronto on Aug. 10, handing negotiators for each of the three automakers thick binders comprised of union bargaining proposals. Talks began in earnest Aug. 22 after Unifor leadership returned from a summit in Halifax.
Payne’s announcement of Ford as the initial union target at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto comes roughly three weeks before Unifor’s current three-year contracts with the Detroit 3 are set to expire Sept. 18. The UAW's contract with the Detroit 3 expires Sept. 14.