Unifor names Ford as strike target for talks
Unifor has selected Ford Motor Co. as the Detroit Three automaker with which the union will first try to hammer out a new labour contract ahead of a looming strike deadline in just two weeks.
Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president, announced the union’s strike target on Tuesday via a press conference broadcast on Facebook.
Unifor, Canada’s biggest private-sector union, represents around 6,300 workers at several Ford facilities in Canada. This includes about 4,250 employees at the automaker’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., which makes the Lincoln Nautilus and Ford Edge sport utility vehicles.
Dias, however, said Edge manufacturing in Oakville is expected to end at some point in 2023, and that there is no “firm commitment” yet from Ford for future production.
“So the biggest obstacle for us today, I will argue, is Ford and Oakville, based on the end of production of the Ford Edge,” Dias said. “But I will also argue that, based on our conversations, it also creates the biggest opportunity.”
Concerns about the future of Ford’s Oakville assembly kicked into high gear earlier this year after AutoForecast Solutions, a U.s.-based industry forecaster, reported the automaker was dropping plans for a next-generation Edge and moving Nautilus production to China after 2023.
The decision to go with Ford to lead off labour talks also follows news last year of the company cutting around 450 jobs and production of the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT at the Oakville plant.
Ford has said it has no plans to exit the SUV segment and that it has invested nearly $ 2 billion in its Canadian operations over the past decade.
“Ford of Canada has a long history of working collaboratively with Unifor and looks forward to reaching a collective agreement in order to remain operationally competitive amidst intense global competition,” said Ryan Kantautas, vice- president, human resources, for Ford Motor Company of Canada in a statement released after Unifor’s announcement. “In light of global economic uncertainties, it’s more important than ever to maintain jobs in Canada. We’ll be asking our employees to work with us to help shape this new reality.”
But Unifor has declared one of its top priorities for the auto talks is nailing down new and existing products and investment from the car companies.
Unifor’s collective bargaining process for contract talks with the Detroit Three is to pick one or more of the companies and reach an agreement with them, which will then form the foundation of deals with the other automakers. The union is seeking a three- year contract, Dias recently told the Post, in order to align its bargaining and investment opportunities with those of U.S. autoworkers.
In addition to product and investment, Unifor has said it wants improved wages and pensions. The union, though, is trying to wring those demands out of the car companies after years of Canada’s auto sector shrinking.
General Motors Co. shut down its vehicle- manufacturing operations in Oshawa, Ont. last year, but it also announced on Tuesday that it has established a strategic partnership and investment in electric truckmaker Nikola Corp. Unifor has said it is interested in discussing electric- vehicle investment with the Detroit Three.
Meanwhile, a third shift at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’ s Windsor, Ont., assembly plant was recently cut. Unifor represents approximately 9,000 Canadian workers at FCA facilities and 4,100 at GM operations.
Unifor naming Ford as its strike target makes sense given the uncertainty around the Oakville plant, said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labour and economics at the Ann Arbor, Mich.- based Center for Automotive Research. Fiat Chrysler is also busy completing its merger with Peugeot-maker PSA Group.
“Maybe this year is not necessarily the year where ( FCA) can guarantee what the future product will be,” Dziczek said in an interview.
Now comes the nitty-gritty of the negotiations. Unifor members have already authorized their leaders to commence a strike, if need be, to get a deal. The deadline that the union has given for a strike is 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 21, when the four-year contracts between Unifor employees and the Canadian arms of the automakers expire.
“I personally feel comfortable that we can get a deal with Ford Motor Company, but we’ll see,” Dias said.