FCA agreement to provide stability in long term: union
Talks on for possible government aid after automaker invests in Ontario plant
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Unifor have reached an agreement on a new labour contract that the union says will see up to $1.5 billion invested in the automaker's Windsor, Ont., assembly plant, and possibly include some financial assistance from government.
Unifor national president Jerry Dias said Thursday that the deal, which averts a strike, will “stabilize” operations for the long term at Fiat Chrysler's Windsor assembly, where the car company cut a third shift this past summer, eliminating around 1,500 jobs at the minivan-building facility.
Fiat Chrysler's Windsor plant will have two manufacturing platforms in the future, Dias said, one of which will keep building minivans and another that will launch in 2024 and be able to build plug-in hybrids or battery-electric vehicles.
The new investment of between $1.35 billion and $1.5 billion will help restore the third shift, creating around 2,000 jobs starting in 2023, the union leader said. Dias also said that while “the lion's share” of the money will come from Fiat Chrysler, there are talks happening with the federal and Ontario governments to assist the company's investment.
“This happens when we all get together and we all have a plan and a strategy,” he said at a press conference. “And this is all a part of government strategy about what we are going to look like post-pandemic, because we understand the importance of this industry.”
Securing new investment and vehicle production has been a priority for Unifor during the recent labour talks with the Detroit Three car companies. The union represents approximately 9,000 workers at FCA's Canadian facilities, including around 8,500 combined at the company's Windsor and Brampton, Ont., assembly plants.
The tentative deal with Fiat Chrysler also follows the contract reached between Unifor and Ford Motor Co. last month, which included a $1.8-billion commitment to overhaul the company's Oakville, Ont., plant so that it could build battery-powered electric vehicles. That investment by Ford was supported by $590 million in funding from the federal and Ontario governments.
Both governments could chip in again to help Fiat Chrysler's spending plans. A spokesperson for Industry Minister Navdeep Bains said in an emailed statement that they were “pleased to hear” that Unifor and FCA had reached a tentative deal, and that they are awaiting the results of the ratification vote. “We are at the table and prepared to support the future of our auto sector, particularly with regards to the development of electric vehicle and battery production here in Canada,” Bains's spokesper
son said.
A spokesperson for Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said in a statement to the Post that they are looking forward to learning more details about Fiat Chrysler's proposed investment.
“We will always work with our federal colleagues, workers, and the auto sector to ensure the right conditions are in place for the industry to remain sustainable in the long term,” the spokesperson added in an email.
Unifor, Canada's biggest private-sector union, announced its tentative three-year agreement with Fiat Chrysler late Wednesday night, just ahead of a midnight strike deadline. The deal still has to be ratified by workers, who will vote on it this coming weekend, but Dias said the company agreed to the “pattern” the union established with the Ford contract, which included wage increases and bonuses.
Also included in the new agreement with FCA is a commitment for a $50-million investment in the company's Brampton assembly plant, which the union says will “extend the life” of Chrysler 300 production and introduce “multiple derivatives” of the Dodge Charger and Challenger that are built there. Fiat Chrysler's Etobicoke casting plant will get more work as well, allowing for more than 100 workers to be recalled, Unifor says.
“It is, I will argue, probably about the best economic agreement we've put together in 20, 25 years,” Dias said. He said that FCA's pending merger with Peugeot-maker PSA Group, which would create the world's fourth-largest carmaker, didn't affect the negotiations.
FCA Canada said only that it has reached a tentative agreement with Unifor on a new contract.
If the FCA contract is ratified, that would leave General Motors Co. as the last automaker with which Unifor has to reach a new agreement. Dias said those talks are set to start next week.