GM picked as next bargaining target by Unifor in Canada

Unifor has picked General Motors Canada as its next bargaining target, a day after union members narrowly ratified a three-year collective agreement with Ford Motor Co. of Canada that set the pattern for this year’s auto talks.

The union secured double-digit wage gains, a path back to defined benefit pension plans and one-time bonuses of C$10,000 (about $7,400 USD) for full-time workers in a Sept. 19 tentative agreement with Ford that came following a last-minute company offer and a 24-hour strike deadline extension. Fifty-four percent of Unifor members voted to ratify the deal in two days of voting over the weekend, narrowly meeting the majority needed to approve the deal.

With members at Ford locked into a new collective agreement that won’t expire until Sept. 20, 2026, Unifor is turning its attention to GM.
 

“We’ve got an incredibly strong pattern agreement at Ford that will serve us well over the coming years," Unifor President Lana Payne said in a statement. "Our job now is to negotiate that pattern in the form of a renewal collective agreement with General Motors and Stellantis. General Motors will be our next target company. Starting [Sept. 26], Unifor will be at the table with GM.”

Unifor’s bargaining committee aims to apply the same general formula as the Ford deal, typically with carve-outs for local issues, to talks with GM. The automaker has one assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, employing about 3,100 hourly workers in Canada that fall under its master collective agreement.

GM also employs 1,100 hourly workers at its powertrain plant in St. Catharines, Ontario.