Ford can breathe a sigh of relief as they’ll likely avoid simultaneous strikes in Canada and the United States.
While nothing is set in stone, the automaker reached a tentative agreement with Canada’s Unifor union yesterday. Ford didn’t go into specifics, but said the deal is a “three-year national labor contract covering more than 5,000 unionized employees in Canada” and is subject to ratification by union members.
The agreement comes shortly after the union’s previous contract with the automaker expired on September 18 at 11:59 pm. As a result, Ford was potentially facing strikes by both Unifor in Canada as well as the UAW in the United States.
More: United Auto Workers Begin Strike At Ford, GM And Stellantis Plants
Details of the agreement will be presented to union members in the near future and it covers Oakville Assembly as well as additional facilities scattered across Canada.
Unifor National President Lana Payne said, “We believe that this tentative agreement, endorsed by the entire master bargaining committee, addresses all of the items raised by members in preparation for this round of collective bargaining.” She added, “We believe that this agreement will solidify the foundations on which we will continue to bargain gains for generations of autoworkers in Canada.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Unifor’s Ford Master Bargaining Chair, John D’Agnolo, who remarked “This agreement makes the kind of gains our members need today and adds greater financial security for the future.”
We’ll likely learn more about the contract in the near future but, in America, the UAW is gearing up to expand their strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis if “substantial progress toward a fair agreement” is not made by Friday, September 22 at noon.
