CANADA

Ford offers Unifor wage increases up to 25%

Reuters
Updated Sat, September 23, 2023



(Reuters) -Ford Motor has offered Canadian union Unifor wage increases of up to 25% in its tentative agreement, the union said on Saturday.

The agreement provides a 10% wage increase for the first year followed by increases of 2% and 3% through the second and third year and a $10,000 productivity and quality bonus to all employees on the active roll of the company, Unifor said.

The proposals also include an increase in the monthly basic benefit and special allowance in all class codes across defined benefit and hybrid pension plans and investments to help transition from traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle production to electric vehicle (EV) assembly facilities.

Unifor, which represents about 5,600 Canadian auto workers, on Friday said that its Ford leadership group has voted unanimously to support the tentative agreement.

Ford is also in the midst of contract negotiations in the U.S. with a strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union at its at the automaker's Wayne, Michigan assembly plant.

The UAW began strikes on Friday against 38 parts distribution centers across the United States at GM and Stellantis, extending its unprecedented, simultaneous strikes that began with one assembly plant each of the Detroit Three. The additional facilities added about 5,600 workers to the 12,700 already on strike.

The UAW said on Friday that Ford had improved its contract offer, including boosting profit sharing and agreeing to let workers strike over plant closures but said the union still has "serious issues" with Ford and its workers would remain on strike at the automaker's Wayne, Michigan assembly plant.

Unlike UAW, Unifor chose one of the Detroit Three as a "target" to negotiate with first - in this case, Ford - in a pattern bargaining tactic used to set the tone for subsequent deals with other companies.

UAW President Shawn Fain said in a Facebook live event that by targeting distribution centers the strike becomes a nationwide event. He said he expected talks to continue through the weekend.

The standoff is fueling worries about prolonged industrial action that could disrupt production and dent U.S. economic growth. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday showed significant support by Americans for the striking auto workers.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in a social media post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he would come to Michigan on Tuesday "to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW," while former President Donald Trump, who is seeking a new term, will be in Michigan on Wednesday to address auto workers, his campaign said.

(Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Alistair Bell)
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Canadian autoworkers vote on tentative deal with Ford

Eva Rothenberg, CNN
Sat, September 23, 2023 

Richard Lautens/Toronto Star/Getty Images


Members of Canada’s autoworkers union, Unifor, began voting Saturday on a tentative three-year agreement the union announced it reached with Ford Motor Co. last week.

The deal, which Unifor calls “exceptional,” was unanimously endorsed by leadership from the local unions on Friday, the union said in a news release. Voting for members — the next step in the ratification process — opened Saturday morning, and the results will be released Sunday.

“This was an extraordinary round of collective bargaining, taking place in an extraordinary time,” the union’s leadership wrote in a joint message to union members included in the bargaining report. “Autoworkers, like all workers, are gripped by an affordability crisis and rising costs. High interest rates are fueling economic uncertainty for families. We are still reeling from a devastating pandemic and damaging supply shortages that have affected our jobs. Amid these challenges comes a once-in-a-century auto sector transformation that, if done right, will grow Canada’s industrial footprint.”

The agreement addresses Unifor’s core priorities, including improved pensions and income security to support a transition to electric vehicles. It includes a wage increase of 10% in the first year of the agreement, effective September 25, followed by a 2% and 3% increase over the next two years of the contract.

The agreement also eliminates the health care deductible for all current and former employees, and marks the first time since 2005 the union has negotiated pension improvements. The new deal grants quarterly payments of up to $148 to all current retirees who retired before October 1, 2023.

If passed, the deal will affect nearly 5,700 union members, including 5,300 workers at three plants, and almost 400 workers spread across three distribution centers and two offices. The deal will also be used as a blueprint in Unifor’s pattern bargaining and could pave the way for new contracts with Stellantis and General Motors.

Ford has said it will not comment on the terms of the tentative agreement while Unifor conducts its ratification vote.

The provisional agreement comes as Ford is making headway in its negotiations with the United Auto Workers, the union representing American workers. “We do want to recognize that Ford is serious about reaching a deal,” UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday.

Because of this, the strike against Ford has been contained to just one location, while the union expanded its strike to all parts distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis.

The UAW said it did not have a comment on the terms of the Unifor deal with Ford.

Canadian auto workers vote on Ford agreement calling for 15% wage hike

Simon Druker
Sat, September 23, 2023 

Members of the Canadian union Unifor's bargaining committee posed for a celebratory photo in Toronto on Wednesday after negotiating a tentative labor agreement with Ford Motor Company. Union members are voting on the deal this weekend. 

Photo Courtesy Unifor


Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Unionized Canadian auto workers began voting Saturday on a new labor deal with Ford Motor Company featuring a 15% wage hike over three years, by some estimates the largest ever negotiated in the industry.

Voting for thousands of Unifor members will run until 10 a.m. EDT Sunday.

The union reached a tentative agreement Wednesday, narrowly avoiding a strike.

The collective bargaining agreement between the union and Ford expired Monday and negotiations were extended beyond an initial deadline to come up with the tentative deal.

The contract includes the first cost of living increase since 2008. It also addresses what Unifor calls its four main priorities, pensions, wages, the transition to manufacturing electric vehicles, and investment.

Newly released details of the agreement show that unionized production workers will get a 10% raise during the contract's first year, followed by raises of 2% and 3% in subsequent years. That equates to an hourly wage of $44.50 by the third year of the agreement, up from $37.

"This is a very rich agreement, possibly the richest in the history of the Canadian union," Jim Stanford, an economist with the Vancouver-based Center for Future Work, told the Globe and Mail in an interview.

Skilled trades workers will get additional raises of 2.75% in the first year, with separate 2.5% annual boosts in following years, topping out at an hourly rate of $56 in the final year of the contract.

"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," Unifor President Lana Payne said Wednesday.

Unifor is now expected to turn its attention to reaching new labor contracts with General Motors and Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler and Fiat.

Members of the United Auto Workers union in the United States are currently on the picket lines, striking without a new contract with GM and Stellantis.