Contract negotiations are set to open today between Unifor and the Detroit Three automakers.
The union will receive proposals from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford and General Motors with formal contract talks set to begin around Labour Day.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment landscape will be in focus as Unifor seeks to make a deal with FCA, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co.
The existing agreements expire on September. 21.
Unifor Local 444 represents workers at the Fiat Chrysler Assembly plant in Windsor.
Local union president, Dave Cassidy, says the main item he'll be going after is a new product for the plant.
He says for the past couple of weeks the union has been going over demands from employees and putting together its own proposals.
"We need that product. We need a product in Windsor. There's some other things that we need to make sure we get into place. There's a whole slew of things that we need to do and we just want to make sure that we are a viable operation," says Cassidy.
On July 10, the third shift was eliminated at the plant which resulted in the loss of well over 700 jobs.
He says they'll be working close with other plants across the southwestern Ontario as well.
"The master bargaining committee is Windsor, Brampton and Etobicoke castings. That's our master bargaining committee and then each master committee has in their facilities a local bargaining committee that deals with the local issues. So this affects all three facilities," says Cassidy.
He says COVID-19 is going to present some unique challenges during negotiations as most meetings will be carried out virtually.
"There's nothing more than 'touchy-feely', you want to be in the heat and know the mood of people," says Cassidy. "Being behind the video and on the screen is just a total different process and especially once we get to ratification."
Formal contract talks with the Detroit Three are expected to get underway around Labour Day — a target company will be picked September 7.
Auto sales plummeted this spring during the peak months of the pandemic, and production lines stalled as automakers shut down plants.
But Unifor national president Jerry Dias says he will be on the lookout for any attempts by the manufacturers to use COVID-19 as an "excuse" going forward, as the union tries to secure new product commitments and job security for plants in Ontario cities Oakville, Brampton, Windsor and St. Catharines.
Unifor represents about 20,000 Canadian workers at the three automakers.
With files from Rob Hindi and the Canadian Press