Unifor workers reach agreement with Canadian GM plants in less than 24 hours

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The Canadian autoworkers union Unifor launched a strike against General Motors Tuesday, joining thousands of Americans on the picket lines.

In less then 24 hours, the union reached a tentative agreement with the automaker Tuesday afternoon.

More than 4,280 Unifor workers had begun striking at the Oshawa Assembly Complex and CCA Stamped Products, St. Catharines Powertrain Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Center.

By 1:30 p.m. ET, though, the union reached an agreement.

"When faced with the shutdown of these key facilities General Motors had no choice but to get serious at the table and agree to the pattern," said Unifor National President Lana Payne. "The solidarity of our members has led to a comprehensive tentative agreement that follows the pattern set at Ford Motor Company to the letter, including all items that company had initial fought us on such as pensions, retiree income supports and converting full-time temporary workers into permanent employees over the life of the agreement."

Earlier in the day, the union had said members at Unifro Locals 222, 199 and 636 would remain on strike "until the pattern is met" while members at the Cami Assembly plant in Ontario would continue operations as they are covered by a separate collective agreement.

In a letter to union members, Unifor leaders said that they worked throughout the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend to reach a deal but GM "made it clear they would not agree to meet the conditions of the pattern agreement" as talks entered the final hours.

Unifor said at the time that GM failed to meet its demands on pension, income supports for retired worker and steps to transition temporary workers into permanent full-time jobs.

The new tentative agreement covers more than 4,000 autoworkers at Unifor locals 222, 199 and 636, putting strike actions on hold to allow members to vote on the plan.

Unifor is Canada's largest private-sector union, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy.

The two sides had averted a strike last month, reaching a tentative agreement.

Tuesday's short strike comes on the heels of the United Auto Workers strike in the United States against General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis.

In the United States, thousands of United Auto Workers connected with Mack Trucks walked off the job in three states Monday after rejecting a new pay deal. The union said the strike would start at facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida.

The strike comes after UAW turned down the latest pay offer from the truck manufacturer, with 73% of the 4,000-member union body voting against a tentative agreement reached just one week ago.

The UAW strike against the "Big Three" automakers in the United States, approached one month on Tuesday with the union asking for record pay increases in light of strong profits made by the carmakers since the COVID-19 pandemic. The union had cited some progress last week in negotiations.