Unifor has tapped General Motors (GM) as the next target company in the union's negotiations with Detroit Three automakers.
Unifor National President Lana Payne made the announcement in a video message to members on Monday afternoon.
Payne says they secured an incredibly strong pattern agreement at Ford that will serve them well over the coming years, and that their job now is to negotiate that pattern in the form of a renewal collective agreement with General Motors and Stellantis.
Unifor's negotiations with GM cover approximately 4,300 workers at the St. Catharines Powertrain Plant, Oshawa Assembly Complex and Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.
Unifor members at the Powertrain Plant build 6.8L, 5.3L, and 3.6L engines for a variety of vehicles, powertrains for the Chevrolet Equinox and Corvette, as well as a variety of engine component parts.
Workers at the Oshawa plant build light- and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado trucks and the plant's stamping operations supply various parts for GM North America.
Payne says their expectation is that GM will follow the pattern set at Ford, because just like with Ford, they hold a lot of negotiating leverage.
"Their Oshawa facility is working around the clock producing very lucrative pick-up trucks. The St. Catherines engine and transmission facility, like Ford's power train operations, is a lynchpin for GM's North American operations. Our Woodstock distribution centre is also a key element of the company's parts network," she said.
Payne says she doesn't expect this to be any easy round of bargaining.
"And I want to make sure our union is best positioned to move this pattern forward, for the benefit of all our members, active and retired. I will say this, I have complete confidence both of GM and Stellantis master bargaining committees."
Payne says both of the bargaining committees have what it takes to get the job done, but she also knows that the Windsor assembly plant is right now facing down weeks because of its retooling which limits their leverage with Stellantis.
"And there is still a lot of necessary information we need to receive from Stellantis about the forthcoming Brampton assembly investment and retool," she continued. And I believe we need to have greater clarity of this before our talks commence."
Payne says negotiations with GM are set to begin on Tuesday, September 26.