Unifor sets Oct. 29 for Stellantis strike deadline as talks set to begin

TORONTO — Unifor says it will officially begin contract negotiations with Stellantis on Wednesday and has set a strike deadline of Oct. 29 at 11:59 p.m.

Talks with Stellantis come after union members at both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. voted in favour of contract terms that Unifor will look to replicate at Stellantis.

Unifor president Lana Payne says in a statement that she looks forward to securing the terms of the pattern, while also making “important additional gains on various Stellantis-specific workplace issues.”

Local 444 president Dave Cassidy, representing Stellantis workers in Windsor, Ont., has said members have told him they’re not happy with the pattern and so there’s lots of work ahead.

The contracts have so far included base hourly wage increases of close to 20 per cent for production workers and 25 per cent for skilled trades, a faster timeline for workers to reach the top wage tier, improvements to pensions and two new paid holidays, among other gains.

Workers at Ford voted 54 per cent in favour of the contract last month, while GM workers, who staged a 12-hour strike before securing a tentative deal, voted 80.5 per cent in favour last weekend. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.

The Canadian Press