Unifor facing resistance ahead of looming GM contract deadline

Unifor says it is still facing resistance from General Motors as the contract deadline set for 11:59 p.m. Monday quickly nears.

National president Lana Payne said that as of Friday some progress had been made in talks with GM, but that there is nothing automatic about the company agreeing to the same terms that were reached with Ford Motor Co.

The union reached a last-minute deal with Ford on Sept. 19 that Payne described as “extremely good.”

Unifor is now trying to get GM to agree to those terms through a tactic called pattern bargaining. This is where terms set at one automaker are repeated at the others to ensure that all members make equal gains.

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“I would definitely say we’re meeting some resistance,” said Payne. “This is not surprising. The idea of pattern bargaining is not exactly something that these companies love.”

However, it’s not just GM that the union is having to bring onboard. It now has to convince workers that the deal is the greatest option for them too.

Union members at Ford voted just 54 per cent in favour of their deal, and it was voted down by skilled trades members in Windsor and Oakville.

Chair of the labour studies department at Brock University Larry Savage says that members at GM will likely vote in favour simply because there is much to gain for many new hires there.

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Stellantis members, however, will not be as keen on the deal. Local 444 president Dave Cassidy reportedly says that he has plans to push for better terms and break the pattern of bargaining used thus far.

Cassidy is also the chair of the skilled trades group at Unifor that represents the workers at Ford who voted against the new contract.

Panye has emphasized the importance of pattern bargaining, saying in a video to members this week that it is the “ultimate act of solidarity.”

Payne defended the Ford contract, saying there is more in the deal than some workers realize as they’ve had so many fronts they’ve been looking to improve on.

“The kinds of changes and improvements that have happened here, it does require a lot to digest because the improvements are multi-layered.”

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Along with gains of nearly 20 per cent wage increase over three years for production workers and almost 25 per cent for skilled trades (when the increases are compounded), a $10,000 bonus, and a faster track for new workers to reach full pay, the Ford deal also includes improvements on areas like pensions and the electric vehicle transition.

But workers have raised concerns about the level of pension gains in the deal, among other perceived shortfalls, as well as the lack of a profit-sharing agreement.

Payne says that while expectations were high as they entered into negotiations, they reached a moment where they didn’t want to risk the improvements that had already been made.

“The reality is that you have to make these decisions when you’re in the middle of it … you know, this was so comprehensive, it deserved to be recommended and brought back to our membership.”

This report was created with files from The Canadian Press

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