Canadian union Unifor officially opens contract talks with the Detroit 3 automakers in Toronto on Aug. 10.
The latest round of contract negotiations comes as Ford, General Motors and Stellantis commit billions of dollars to new battery production plants and electric vehicle retooling projects at vehicle assembly sites throughout North America, including plants across the border from the U.S. in Ontario.
They also follow an era of high profitability for automakers, which have leveraged tight post-pandemic vehicle inventories to produce record profits, fueling high expectations among union members. Ahead of the talks, Unifor has been repeatedly flagging higher wages, improved pensions and support for workers during the industry’s transition to EVs as among its top priorities for the negotiations with the Detroit 3.
Unlike other rounds of bargaining stretching back to 1999, Canadian auto workers and their American counterparts at the UAW will be bargaining simultaneously. The UAW’s contracts with the automakers expire Sept. 14, four days before Unifor’s.
Before the official handshake ceremonies in downtown Toronto kick off the latest round of talks, Automotive News Canada spoke with insiders about how each automaker is positioning itself to bargain with Unifor.
FORD
Ford Motor Co. of Canada aims to “draft a blueprint” that will steer the company through the transition to electric vehicles, while “recognizing the hard work” of staff at Ford manufacturing plants and distribution centers in Canada.
Balancing these two goals, among other priorities, will be the challenge for both the company and the union as contract talks progress, according to a senior Ford Canada official, speaking on background.
“There’s never been an easy round of collective bargaining … so this is going to be a challenge, and it’s going to be complex, but I’m confident that we can find a way through it.”
Unifor represents almost 5,700 workers at Ford operations in Canada, including at the Oakville Assembly Complex southwest of Toronto and a pair of engine plants in Windsor. Production workers at the plants earn an average of C$36 ($26.90) per hour, not including pension or retirement benefits, while new staff start at C$24.15 an hour, according to the company.
While the company must make the shift to EV production cost-competitively, the current market outlook in Canada remains positive, the Ford Canada official said.
“If you look at the vantage point that we’re at right now as the Canadian automotive industry, with where we stand with everything going on in the global marketplace, I feel really good and really bullish about the future of Canada.”
On April 11, the company pledged to spend $1.8 billion to retool its Oakville assembly plant to build EVs, as well as add a battery pack production line.
The Ford Canada official did not delve into the details of how the company plans to address Unifor’s priorities, but acknowledged the challenges workers are facing.
“It’s been a tough environment in recent years between COVID, between the economic pressures with inflation, with housing prices, and that’s something the entire industry is having to reconcile.”
A counterbalance to high levels of inflation is “something that’s going to be on the table through these negotiations,” the official added.
From the automaker’s side, the official pointed to competitiveness and the role of new technology as among the top areas of focus.
“Over the course of this agreement, we’re going to need to talk about how we work, how our best competitors are working, and we’re going to need to work as they do, or better, to make sure that we continue to grow these jobs.”
GENERAL MOTORS
Between reopening its Oshawa Assembly Plant after a short-lived closure, starting up Canada’s first large-scale EV plant in Ingersoll, Ont., and pushing into battery material production in Quebec, GM Canada has retooled and expanded its Canadian footprint considerably since the last round of contract talks with Unifor in 2020.
The string of big-ticket investments is expected to alter the bargaining “dynamic” between GM and Unifor, from a focus on product allocation in past years, to contract economics and local plant issues in 2023, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, speaking on background.
GM Canada employs about 4,300 Unifor members in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock whose contracts expire Sept. 18. A further 1,500 Unifor members work at the company’s CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll under a separate collective agreement that carries into 2024.
According to the wage grid released by Unifor following 2020 bargaining, production workers under Unifor’s main bargaining agreement with GM start at C$24.26 per hour today. With eight years of seniority or more, wages for production workers rise to C$37.33 per hour.
While GM is expected to pursue an agreement with Unifor that keeps the company “competitive,” it will also be looking to reward employees for their contributions, the source said.
As with other automaker footprints in Ontario, GM’s operations are in the midst of transitioning to EVs. CAMI began building electric BrightDrop delivery vans late last year, while the company announced plans in February to begin building EV motors at the St. Catharines Propulsion Plant no later than 2025. Meantime, GM has given no indication production of internal-combustion engine pickup trucks in Oshawa will end in the near future.
STELLANTIS
Unlike UAW leadership, Unifor President Lana Payne opted not to keep her distance from the union’s major employers in the run-up to contract talks. Payne, along with Unifor’s auto bargaining team, toured Stellantis’ Brampton Assembly Plant alongside Mark Stewart, the company’s COO for North America on July 21.
Speaking to reporters following several stops on the plant floor, Stewart said Stellantis’ recent battery plant deal with the Canadian and Ontario governments will “secure” the company’s footprint in the country for the next 80 to 100 years. He also credited Unifor for helping end the seven-week standoff with the federal government over incentive funding that had prompted the company to halt construction.
Bargaining will test the apparent détente between the company and union, though Stewart told reporters Stellantis is excited to get to the negotiating table.
“We’re on course to continue our great working partnership and find a great agreement together.”
Stewart shied away from any specific details, but said the company was “absolutely” willing to engage on union priorities such as higher wages for workers facing steep levels of inflation.
“We all need to be successful together, and that means everybody continuing to have great wages, great benefits and a great place to work.”
Under the company’s current wage structure, production staff start at C$24.26 per hour. Hourly wages for production workers top out at C$37.33 after eight years.
Stewart would not discuss future product plans for Stellantis’ Brampton or Windsor plants ahead of bargaining, but left no doubt about the company’s commitment to both assembly sites following the deal with Ottawa. This eliminates one concern for Unifor, as industry analysts had placed the future of Brampton plant as at risk for several years.
Stellantis committed $3.6 billion to retool both its Windsor and Brampton plants to build EVs in May 2022. Work in Windsor is scheduled to start later this year, with Brampton following in 2024.