Unifor members at Stellantis to vote on new deal starting this weekend
Agreement will 'considerably improve' living standards for workers, Unifor says
Stellantis employees in Canada will soon get a chance to have their say on a new tentative agreement Unifor says was achieved with a brief but effective overnight strike.
Ahead of ratification votes starting this weekend, the union said Monday Stellantis came to the table aggressively but the deal they reached benefits all workers regardless of where they are in their careers — and meets the pattern set by Ford and GM.
"This agreement will considerably improve the living standards of every single Unifor member at Stellantis in Canada," national president Lana Payne said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
"Our goal was to achieve investments and job security for the years and decades to come."
Some 8,200 employees of the automaker, the parent company of Chrysler, went on on strike after midnight when a deal was not reached by the deadline Unifor set. An agreement was reached around 7 a.m. after bargaining continued through the night, the union said.
Payne says the three-year deal matches the "core economic pattern" achieved in recent agreements with Ford and General Motors on wages, pensions, investments and supports in the transition to electric vehicles.
The deal includes also action on Stellantis-specific pension issues and work practices. Payne says the pension increases will be the first in 15 years.
On earnings, Payne says production workers will see an increase of 19 per cent over the agreement while skilled trades workers will receive 25 per cent.
"This is the best agreement, one-time agreement, that any of our members have ever seen," said James Stewart, Unifor's Stellantis master bargaining chair.
Mark Stewart, Stellantis chief operating officer for North America, said the deal will reward workers and "protect the long-term health of our Canadian operations."
"Out of respect for the bargaining process, we will refrain from commenting until the ratification process is complete," Stewart said in a statement.
Unifor says it secured investments of $3 billion in the company's Canadian facilities and a "clearer roadmap" on the company's plans for the Windsor and Brampton plants.
Next year, Stellantis is shutting down the Brampton plant for upgrades in the shift toward electrification. The Windsor Assembly Plant is also currently being retooled to produce a new vehicle that has yet to be announced.
Both plants are expected to return to three-shift operations.
But bargaining rights for the new Stellantis-LG Energy Solution electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont. are still up in the air.
Unifor had said securing the right to represent those workers is a priority. That plant is expected to employ 2,500 people and open sometime next year.
"We agreed with the company to further discussions as the plant gets up and running," Payne said.
This deal, if approved by members, will cap off Unifor's negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers that began in August.
Payne said Stellantis has the largest footprint of the three automakers in Canada.
It has assembly plants in Brampton and Windsor, where the Chrysler Pacifica minivan is made. It also has a die-casting facility in Toronto and parts distribution facilities in Mississauga, Ont., and Red Deer, Alta.
Payne says ratification meetings will be held Saturday through Monday, depending on the local.
Members at the Windsor Assembly Plant have told CBC News they were informed there will be a ratification meeting on Saturday, followed by an online vote.