Workers at Flex-N-Gate in Lakeshore have voted 75% in favour of a new deal with the company.
The 200 workers represented by Unifor Local 195 voted Sunday on the second tentative agreement after rejecting an initial offer on Friday.
Union President Gerry Farnham is thankful a deal has been reached without a work stoppage.
"You're never going to be doing well if a facility ends up shutting down another facility," says Farnham. "The reality of it is, we were able to pull this agreement out. There will be no disruption at the FCA [Fiat Chrysler Assembly Pant] facility and that means a lot to Windsor and the community."
.@UniforTheUnion 's Gerry Farnham says adjustments to the timing of pay increases made the difference in FlexNGate deal. @AM800News #cklw pic.twitter.com/mOPJIZCSjS
— Gord Bacon (@baconAM800) May 21, 2017
Farnham told AM800 News the new deal would see more money up-front.
"We were able to bump that up to a 50-cent increase immediately upon ratification, and then another 40-cents in year two, and then an additional 30-cents in year three for a total of a $1.20 over the life of that agreement," he says.
Skilled trades will also see more money immediately with new contract, according to Farnham.
"We were able to push the employer further, and we were able to get $1 up-front in the first year on the skilled trades, 70-cents in year two and 70-cents in year 3 for a total of $2.40," he says.
Farnham says the company looked at removing a promise to keep work in Windsor from the agreement.
He went on to say employees made concessions over the years to reflect the state of the economy, and that isn't the case anymore.
"There's a lot of frustration from the membership over the years. We were in concessionary bargaining because of the economy, the meltdown, and the way the dollar had reached a parody with the United States," Farnham says. "The automotive industry appears to be doing fairly well, the employer has kept the commitment letter that this work will stay in Windsor."
Flex N Gate makes floor rails for mini vans at the Windsor Assembly Plant and an ongoing strike would have halted production.