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Fiat Chrysler picked as next bargaining target, Unifor says

Unifor has named Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as the next target in its pattern bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers.

Unionized GM workers to vote Sunday on tentative contract deal

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne, left, shakes hands with Dino Chiodo, president of Unifor Local 444 in front of a 2017 Pacifica minivan on the Windsor Assembly Plant line in this May 2016 photo. (Carlos Osorio/The Associated Press)

Unifor said Thursday that the next company in its contract negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers will be Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, pending ratification of a tentative agreement with General Motors.

Fiat Chrysler employs 9,750 Unifor union members, including:

  • 3,300 at its Brampton, Ont., assembly plant, where the Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger are built.
  • 6,000 members at its Windsor, Ont., plant, which makes the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica.
  • 450 at its Etobicoke, Ont., casting plant.

Late Monday,Unifor and GM reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year deal covering 3,900 workers. The Unifor members will vote Sunday on the deal, with results to be released that evening,   

"If members support the recommendation and approve the new four-year collective agreement we will shift our focus and immediately resume negotiations with [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]," said Jerry Dias, Unifor's national president. "Unifor will be seeking a pattern settlement that includes our top priority — investment."