(Toronto) Unifor enters the final weekend of its negotiations with Stellantis before the strike deadline, as workers from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union in the United States also enter a new stage of negotiations.
Unifor has set October 29 at 11:59 p.m. ET as the deadline for negotiations with the automaker.
The union explained that it was striving for the same gains as those obtained at Ford Motor and General Motors, as well as certain details specific to Stellantis’ electric vehicle plans for its Canadian factories.
He said that in addition to securing the core business model set out by the Ford deal, he was also working to address important issues specific to Stellantis.
As talks continue in Canada, the UAW announced a breakthrough on Wednesday by reaching a tentative agreement with Ford, after about six weeks of escalating strikes.
The UAW announced some of the key gains, including a pay increase of about 25 percent over the life of the four-year contract, but will not release full details until the proposal has been reviewed by a union committee.
Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University, believes that based on the details released so far, the UAW deal looks better than the one Unifor got here.
“Based on what is publicly available, it appears that the UAW deal is superior,” Mr. Eidlin said.
“It’s not that the Unifor deal isn’t good. He’s pretty good, by far the best contract they’ve won in decades. But, it’s also important to keep in mind that the UAW was digging itself out of a much deeper hole than Unifor was. »
He pointed out that temporary workers will see greater gains in the United States, but again, from a lower starting point, and that UAW workers will also get their full pay in three years, instead of the four years Unifor got. However, both are significantly faster than the previous eight years.
Unifor said it is difficult to make direct comparisons of earnings between the two unions due to many differences in operations and contracts.
As Unifor pushes for Stellantis to accept the model it has established, members of the company’s union have expressed dissatisfaction with the progress being made.
Mr. Eidlin said the UAW’s push could increase pressure on Stellantis to want to avoid a Unifor strike. It remains to be seen whether workers will accept the deal.
“The question then becomes what Stellantis workers will say about the deal. Because they are the ultimate arbiters. »