Unifor rep at Oakville Ford plant says no to template of GM deal

A union local at Ford Motor Co.'s Oakville, Ont.,assembly plant says it is not willing to accept the same deal its national parent, Unifor, recently negotiated withGM Canada.

"We as a local bargaining committee have sent a very clear message to Ford Motor Company and the national union that the framework agreement between GM and the membership will not suit the needs of the membership in Oakville," Local 707 president Dave Thomas said in a message on the group's website.

"Investment in Canada was the [No. 1] priority when we opened up bargaining but we all agreed that it would not be at the expense of the rest of the membership," he said.

Thomas said the local bargaining committee "will notsacrifice the needs of the membership in Oakville and settle on an agreement that doesn't address our issues."

• GM workers accept tentative agreement
• 'Have to negotiate something else': Unions challenged with offsetting potential pension losses

On Sept. 25, GM workers represented by Uniforat Ontario plants in Oshawa and St. Catharinesvoted 64.7 per cent in favour of a new deal that includesa two per cent wage increase this year and another two per cent increase in September, 2019. The collective agreement also includesa $6,000 signing bonus andlump-sum bonuses of $2,000 in each of the next three years formost employees.

The deal also includes improvements to benefits, hiring practices and a commitment by GM to invest $554million in its Canadian operations. The deal will also see new hires brought in under a defined contribution pension plan, instead of the current hybrid plan.

Thomas told Reuters that the Oakvilleunion localwants a deal that would get new hires to the top of the pay grid faster than under the new deal with GM, which maintained the 10-year salary grow-in.

Unifor typically picks an initialtarget company from the Detroit Three automakers to negotiate a deal that serves as the pattern for talks with the other two companies. GM was the target company this year.

• Fiat Chrysler, Unifor begin negotiations on new contract

Unifor is now in talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, meaning talks with Ford's Canadian operations are yetto come. The union represents about 5,000 workers at the Ford Oakville assembly plant, along with about 1,400 workers at the company's two Windsor, Ont.-area engine plants.

Unifor Local 200, which covers workers at the Windsor engine plants, has said it wants Ford to bring a new product to the area.