Ford of Canada, Unifor Open Contract Negotiations
Photo: Ford
With their current contract set to expire just before midnight on Sept. 21, Ford Motor Company of Canada and Unifor are coming to the table in search of a new deal.
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Ford of Canada and Unifor officially opened their 2020 contract negotiations earlier this month. To commemorate the occasion, both sides sent their respective bargaining teams to the Sheraton Center in Toronto, Ontario, for a physically distanced meeting. Among the representatives on hand were Ford of Canada Vice President of Human Resources Ryan Kantautas and Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
“We will work collaboratively with Unifor to ensure we remain operationally competitive amidst intense global competition,” said Kantautas. “Over the last decade, Ford has invested nearly $2 billion in its Canadian operations, and we are always looking for new investment opportunities that improve our competitive position.”
Dias pledges to fight for what workers deserve
Unifor represents approximately 20,000 workers in Canada, and the objective in the current round of negotiations is to secure the future of workers at the Oakville Assembly Complex. Dias said in a news conference following the meeting that Unifor will not reach an agreement with Ford unless there is a production mandate in place for Oakville.
The plant is currently responsible for the production of the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus. AutoForecast Solutions Vice President Sam Fiorani reported in June that both programs will expire in 2023 without plans in place for next-generation versions of either vehicle.
Dias told Automotive News Canada that despite decreases in revenue resulting from the ongoing pandemic, Unifor will not accept decreasing or stagnant wages for workers.
“I’m not going to allow COVID, the pandemic, to be an excuse to somehow not give our members the increases they deserve,” said Dias.
Bargaining is set to begin the week of Aug. 31. Unifor will bargain simultaneously with Ford, General Motors, and FCA, and it’s expected to name one of the three automakers its target for initial ratification by Sept. 8.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.