The union that represents most of Canadian autoworkers voted for a strike mandate Sunday.
Advertisement
Unifor, which represents more than 20,000 autoworkers, is pushing General Motors Co GM.N , Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FCHA.MI and Ford Motor Co F.N to invest further in the province of Ontario, home to almost all of Canada’s auto industry, in talks that began this month.
Unifor represents more than 20,000 autoworkers across Canada and voted nearly unanimously in favor of a strike if parties can not agree to a new contract by September 19, the date the current four-year contract expires.
The union specifically wants guarantees that GM will build new products at the company’s assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario; a commitment from Ford to build a new engine at its motor plant in Windsor, Ontario; and an investment by Fiat Chrysler at its plant in Brampton, Ontario.
Strike votes are steps in the process of negotiation between the companies and the union.
“The bargaining committee will not accept a deal without a commitment to investment in Canada’s auto sector”, Mr. Dias said.
At Unifor’s June 1 Auto Council meeting, elected representatives from every Detroit Three bargaining unit voted unanimously to make new investments in Canada, including new product allocations, the top priority of the talks.
Mr. Dias said the shareholders and managers of these vehicle manufacturers have been well rewarded for four years and it’s now the turn of workers to enjoy, especially with new investments in Canada. It is now time for the workers to be rewarded, and that begins with new investments in Canada.
Advertisement
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, was formed in 2013 as a result of the merger between the Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. “The push for new investments in Canada got a lot stronger today”. This is to maintain and create good-paying jobs, it is for our communities and for the next generation, “said the national president of Unifor”.
