DETROIT – The union representing the Canadian auto industry has selected Ford as a possible strike target in contract negotiations this year.
Uniformed union contracts with the 3 Detroit automakers expire at 11:59 p. m. September 21.
Unifor President Jerry Dias told a press convention Tuesday that the union was seeking product commitments for Ford’s Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant near Toronto. Production of the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs ends at the plant in 2023. Dias says Ford has made no long-term product commitments.
He says the union is in favor of job safety and commitments, adding electric vehicles. The bases of a three-year agreement with Ford would then apply to the other two companies, Fiat Chrysler and General Motors.
Dias says Canada is not committed to making electric cars and has gone from fourth carmaker in 1999 to twelfth today.
In addition to product commitments, the union will also do so on wages and benefits, he said.
Ford said it looks to the future for a deal that will keep it competitive and keep jobs in Canada. “We will ask our painters to paint with us to help shape this new reality,” he said.
Unifor held a month-long strike in 2017 at a GM plant that makes the small Chevrolet Equinox SUV. The union later sought to be named the first manufacturer of the SUV, also manufactured in Mexico. Although Unifor did not get this, the union said it had secured provisions that grant additional benefits to staff who are about to retire if the plant closes, production moves or a shift. finish the paintings.
The union also fought GM last year over its goal of preventing car production at a plant in Oshawa, Ontario.
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