A sign announcing hiring is shown at the General Motors facility in Oshawa, Ontario on Monday April 4, 2022. Unifor members at a trio of major automakers have voted overwhelmingly for strike mandates, authorizing their bargaining committees to take labour action if collective agreements can't be reached. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
TORONTO – Workers at a trio of major automakers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing their union to call a strike if bargaining committees can’t secure new collective agreements in the coming months.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, says its members at Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis all voted between 98 and 99 per cent in favour of the strike mandate.
The vote took place over the weekend amid a pause in bargaining talks. The current batch of collective agreements, which cover 18,000 workers at the “Detroit Three” automakers, are set to expire before midnight on Sept. 18.
The results mirror a strike mandate handed down by members of the U.S.-based United Auto Workers union on Friday, who are negotiating with the trio of automakers at the same time.
Unifor National President Lana Payne issued a release saying the union’s bargaining teams are set to resume talks with support from members across the auto sector and are prepared to take any necessary action to achieve their goals.
She says their bargaining committees are focused on improving pensions, increasing wages and securing good union jobs in a future set to be dominated by electric vehicles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2023.
