Unifor members at Stellantis to vote on new deal starting this weekend

Stellantis employees in Canada will soon get a chance to have their say on a new tentative agreement Unifor says was achievedwith abrief but effective overnight strike.

Ahead of ratification votes starting this weekend, the union saidMonday Stellantis came to the table aggressivelybutthe deal they reached benefits all workersregardless of where they are in their careers and meets the pattern set by Ford and GM.

"This agreement will considerably improve the living standards of every single Unifor member at Stellantis in Canada," national president Lana Payne said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

"Our goal was to achieve investments and job security for the years and decades to come."

Some 8,200 employees of theautomaker, the parent company of Chrysler,went on on strike after midnight when a deal was not reached by the deadline Unifor set. An agreementwas reached around 7 a.m. after bargaining continued through the night, the union said.

Payne says the three-year deal matches the"core economic pattern"achieved in recent agreements withFord and General Motorson wages, pensions, investments and supports in thetransition to electric vehicles.

The deal includes also action on Stellantis-specificpension issues and work practices. Payne says the pension increases will be the first in 15 years.

Unifor reaches tentative agreement with Stellantis to end autoworkers' strike

12 months ago

Duration 3:41

A tentative deal has been reached between Unifor and U.S. automaker Stellantis for its Canadian plants and workers, ending a brief strike action, the union said on Monday.

On earnings, Payne says production workers will see an increase of 19 per cent over the agreement while skilled trades workers will receive 25 per cent.

"This is the best agreement, one-time agreement, that any of our members have ever seen," said James Stewart, Unifor's Stellantismaster bargaining chair.

Mark Stewart, Stellantischief operating officer forNorth America, said the deal willreward workers and "protect the long-term health of our Canadian operations."

"Out of respect for the bargaining process, we will refrain from commenting until the ratification process is complete," Stewart said in a statement.

Unifor says it secured investments of $3 billion in the company'sCanadian facilities and a "clearer roadmap" on the company's plans for the Windsor and Brampton plants.

Next year, Stellantis is shutting down the Brampton plant for upgrades in the shift towardelectrification. The Windsor AssemblyPlant is also currently being retooled to produce a new vehiclethat hasyet to be announced.

Both plants are expected to return to three-shift operations.

But bargaining rights for the newStellantis-LG Energy Solutionelectric vehiclebattery plant in Windsor, Ont. are still up in the air.

Unifor hadsaid securing the right to represent those workers is a priority. That plant is expected toemploy2,500 people and open sometime next year.

"We agreed with the company to further discussions as the plant gets up and running," Payne said.

This deal, if approved by members,will cap off Unifor's negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers thatbegan in August.

Payne said Stellantis has the largest footprint of the three automakers in Canada.

It hasassembly plants in Brampton and Windsor, where theChrysler Pacifica minivanis made. It also has adie-casting facility in Toronto andparts distribution facilities in Mississauga, Ont., and Red Deer, Alta.

Payne says ratification meetings will be held Saturday through Monday, depending on the local.

Members at the Windsor Assembly Plant have told CBC News they were informed therewill be a ratification meeting on Saturday,followed by an online vote.