- GM has reached a tentative agreement with Canada’s Unifor union.
- 30% of GM union members have been laid off due to plant idling.
- Union officials said the deal delivers “strong income and benefit gains.”
Canada and the United States are mired in a trade war, but General Motors has reached a tentative agreement with Canada’s Unifor union. The deal was announced over the weekend and occurred less than two weeks after talks began on August 10.
Details will be presented to union members next weekend, but the tentative agreement was unanimously endorsed by the Unifor General Motors Master Bargaining Committee. Unifor National President Lana Payne added the contract delivers “strong income and benefit gains, amid some of the most challenging times in our history.”
More: Ford’s New Canadian Union Agreement Calls For More V8s
Unifor represents more than 4,600 GM employees in Canada including 1,050 at the idled CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario. That facility opened in 1989 and made BrightDrop vans until the company pulled the plug last October. This means that approximately 30% of GM Unifor members are laid off at the moment.
The future of the CAMI plant likely played a big role in the talks, although the union also had to focus on facilities in Oshawa, St. Catharines, and Woodstock.
The tentative agreement is expected to echo the one reached at Ford, which will see workers receive a 9% wage increase over the next three years. In particular, full-rate production worker wages will increase to $50.20 CAD ($36.27) per hour by the end of the agreement, while skilled trade workers get $62.71 CAD ($45.30) per hour.
Full-time permanent employees will also get a $10,000 CAD ($7,225) bonus, while temporary employees will pocket $2,000 CAD ($1,445). Other concessions included a cost of living allowance, increased Retirees Universal Healthcare Allowance payments, and additional benefits for laid off workers.
The Ford deal also called for a $700 million CAD ($506 million) investment into the Essex Engine Plant, which will increase production of 5.0- and 7.3-liter V8s. As part of this effort, the facility will add a third shift in 2029.
