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Five days after reaching a tentative deal, Unifor members have voted to ratify a new three-year collective agreement with the Ford Motor Company.
Over this weekend, 5,600 Ford workers across Canada cast their vote regarding whether or not to approve a new contract offered by Ford, which the union called the “largest negotiated general wage increase in Unifor and CAW history.”
Voting wrapped up at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and according to a post on social media and press release, Unifor members voted to ratify the new three-year agreement.
“Our Unifor-represented autoworkers are the heart of Ford of Canada,” said Bev Goodman, president and CEO, Ford of Canada in a release. “This contract invests in our talented and dedicated employees, who remain consistently focused on the critical work of assembling our vehicles, building our engines and components, improving customer satisfaction, and expediting parts delivery service to our more than 400 dealers. Together, we are ensuring our Canadian operations continue to deliver with the skills, knowledge, and processes to compete and win.”
On Tuesday, Unifor and the Ford Motor Company reached a tentative collective agreement. The agreement had expired at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, but negotiations were extended another 24 hours after Unifor received a “substantive offer” minutes before the initial deadline.
On Saturday, Unifor announced the specifics of the new collective agreement.
Unifor leadership said they targeted the four key principles of pensions, wages, EV transition supports and investment.
So what are the big takeaways?
Upon signing, members will receive a 10 per cent wage increase in year one of the deal, two per cent in year two, and three per cent in the third year. These increases will be even higher for skilled trades.
The union said this is the single largest negotiated general wage increase in Unifor and CAW history.
For production workers, this will amount to an hourly wage increase of approximately $5 per hour – equaling from $37.33 to $42.39 per hour.
Employees are also in line to receive a $10,000 signing bonus.
In addition, employees will receive additional paid time off, and improvements will be made to the new hire wage progression scale, bringing new hires to full pay by year four instead of year eight.
There will also be a reactivation of cost of living allowances, and for the first time in 15 years, what the union calls improvements to pension security, which will see transitioning workers move from a defined contribution plan to the “more lucrative, stable” defined benefit plan.
In Windsor, this will directly impact 1,700 hourly production and skilled trade workers at the Essex Engine and Windsor Annex plants. The new agreement includes “additional invesment and added capacity” at the Windsor plant, and will include “extended and enhanced income and eligibility” during the retooling period at Oakville’s Electric Vehicle Centre.
On Aug. 29, Unifor announced the Ford Motor Company as the union’s Detroit Three target company in its current round of negotiations with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
This is a developing story
— With files from CTV News Windsor’s Rich Garton
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