The NextStar EV battery facility in east Windsor is one step closer to its first collective agreement.
Unifor Local 444 announced Tuesday it had reached a 'historic first agreement' with NextStar Energy, one that will ‘set the bar for Canada’s electrified sector.’
Approximately 500 workers will vote according to Local 444 president James Stewart, who says the tentative deal was a long time coming.
"We started meeting with the company in November, we had a bargaining committee put together in January, and we've been meeting continually from January until now," Stewart said.
Stewart says workers have been feeling insecure in their jobs given the current climate.
"We've dealt with whole tariffs war with the United States, we've dealt with a U.S. President that's changed the direction on green energy and EVs, so they've been all in play from the beginning of bargaining til now we've went through this whole thing, so it's been a real challenging bargaining session," he said.
Stewart says the deal covers only NextStar employees and not those contracted out to construct the facility.
"They're building batteries, cells, modules, they're maintaining the lines while they're producing, there's tech people there, there's people for quality, there's a lot of classifications within the facility, it's a very skilled job they do," Stewart said.
A ratification vote takes place 10 a.m. Sunday at the Ciociaro Club.
Workers are reminded to bring their work badge.
Stewart says prior to the vote, workers will be informed of the details of the tentative agreement, including the term length.