GM unionized workers ratify new contracts with automaker
Unifor members have ratified new three-year contracts with General Motors, securing wage increases and significant investments in Canadian facilities. The deal follows negotiations that were complicated by broader economic and political tensions.
Why it matters
The agreement stabilizes the Canadian automotive manufacturing sector and provides a benchmark for labor relations in the industry.
The union representing workers at General Motors says its members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying new contracts with the automaker.
Unifor and GM agreed Aug. 22 on tentative labour contracts for more than 4,600 autoworkers in Ontario, and union members voted on them over the weekend.
The union said in a news release Sunday the three-year collective agreements increase wages for full-rate production members to $50.20 an hour and skilled trades workers to $62.71 an hour.
It said members in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock voted 80.5 per cent in favour, while members in Ingersoll voted 96.5 per cent in support.
Talks between the union and automaker began earlier this month after Unifor reached an agreement with Ford, and the union says its agreements with GM mirror the three-per-cent annual wage increases with Ford.
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