Unifor says it will 'fight and strike' for higher wages as talks with Detroit Three automakers begin
Unifor national president Lana Payne says autoworkers are ready to “fight and strike” to have their demands met on higher wages and job security as the union kicked off labour negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers in Toronto.
Representatives of Canada’s largest private sector union and Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV, met on Aug. 10 for the launch of the talks that come during a critical moment for the industry as it transitions away from gas-powered cars and with inflation concerns top of mind for employees.
Payne handed company delegates a thick binder full of workers’ demands to review for the first time on Thursday. The union is focused on wage increases and job security in this round of bargaining, she said, and won’t hesitate to do battle to secure them.
“The aftershock of the pandemic is still being felt, with parts shortages (and) supply bottlenecks resulting in significant downtime at some of our facilities (and) making life more precarious for many of our members,” Payne said at a press conference following individual meetings with each of the three automakers.
“This is the moment we are in and no one should underestimate it.”
The renegotiations come at a time of heightened organized labour activity in Canada, with unionized workers fighting for higher wages — and going on strike — after a run-up in inflation and higher interest rates over the past two years reduced purchasing power.
The auto sector is also undergoing a transition to electric vehicles, requiring companies to retool factories and putting job security at risk. Payne said that makes this year’s round of bargaining especially crucial in ensuring workers are protected during the shift.
Economics are one of the “tough” issues that will be discussed at the bargaining table, said Steven Majer, vice-president of human resources at Ford Canada, though he added all parties are going into negotiations with a “positive mindset.”
Majer said inflation will weigh more heavily than usual on talks this year.
“We typically include general wage increases, lump sum inflation protection bonuses, but what I think is really unique about this round of bargaining is the rate of inflation that nobody foresaw over the course of this past three-year window,” he said.
Inflation will also play a factor in negotiating pensions benefits as some employees look to retire in the years ahead.
“We have a workforce that’s looking forward to retirement at some point in the future and they want to make sure that the planned retirement benefits keep pace with what’s going on in the economy in years to come,” Majer said.
Unionized Canadian autoworkers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) in the United States are simultaneously renegotiating contracts with the Detroit Three this year for the first time since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008.
Unifor said it’s collaborating with UAW to ensure both organizations are aligned during the process. The Canadian union is seeking gains on wages and pensions for its 18,000 workers covered under collective agreements and wants commitments from the automakers around electric vehicle transition plans that will protect jobs.
This week, UAW president Shawn Fain made a spectacle of angrily tossing Stellantis’s contract proposals in the trash bin after they fell short of the union’s demands. UAW, which represents 150,000 auto employees, is asking for 40-per-cent wage increases, but Payne said she would not reveal what rate Unifor is seeking to protect the bargaining process.
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Unifor typically opens up introductory talks with automakers for a few weeks before selecting one company, usually around Labour Day, on which to focus its bargaining efforts and then continuing one-by-one until all three deals are renegotiated.
Payne said Unifor hasn’t selected which company it will target first, but is considering tapping Ford to lead bargaining since the two have a “good historical working relationship” and the company has demonstrated a “willingness to dialogue.”
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