Unifor reaches tentative deal with Ford Motor Company
Posted September 19, 2023 9:22 pm.
Last Updated September 19, 2023 10:08 pm.
Unifor has reached a tentative three-year agreement with Ford Motor Company, the union announced on Tuesday night.
The union says the proposed contract will be brought to members shortly for a vote. Negotiations with Ford are expected to set expectations for what workers will get in contracts from General Motors and Stellantis.
The tentative deal with Ford comes as U.S. autoworkers continue to strike against Ford as well as at General Motors and Stellantis plants.
Unifor members at Ford voted 98.9 per cent in favour of a strike if the bargaining committee failed to secure a new collective agreement.
The new deal covers members at Canadian Ford facilities, including members at Ford’s Oakville Assembly Plant and Annex and Essex Engine Plants in Windsor, Ont., among others across the country.
“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,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
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“We believe that this agreement will solidify the foundations on which we will continue to bargain gains for generations of autoworkers in Canada.”
The collective agreement between Unifor and Ford expired on Sept. 18, just before midnight. In a late afternoon Monday update, the union said it was telling its 5,600 members at Ford to be ready for all scenarios, including strike action, when the contract expired at the end of the day.
“The agreement is subject to ratification by Ford-Unifor members. To respect the ratification process, Ford of Canada will not discuss the specifics of the tentative agreement,” said Steven Majer, vice president of human resources at Ford Motor Company of Canada Limited.
Along with higher wages, Unifor says its other key priorities are pensions and issues around job security and the transition to electric vehicles.
Ford employs approximately 7,000 people in Canada, while an additional 18,000 people are employed in the more than 400 Ford and Ford-Lincoln dealerships across the country.
With files from The Canadian Press
