The Canadian labor union, Unifor, announced early on Wednesday that it has initiated strikes at three General Motors facilities in the country after failing to reach a new agreement to improve wages and retirement benefits before the midnight deadline. Unifor, representing approximately 4,300 workers at General Motors under its coverage, stated that strikes would take place at three facilities in Ontario - the Oshawa Assembly Complex, St. Catharines powertrain plant, and Woodstock parts distribution center, which could escalate labor unrest across North America's automotive industry.
The union expressed its desire to see General Motors adopt the new three-year contract that Unifor had negotiated with Ford, which is known as pattern bargaining. Unifor stated in a press release, "The decision to strike was not taken lightly. General Motors, after working through the Thanksgiving holiday and right until the final minutes of the deadline, flatly refused to accept our reasonable contract terms."
The union is seeking improvements for part-time workers who are looking for pathways to full-time employment and better retirement benefits while also advocating for retired workers. Unifor represents around 18,000 workers at three Canadian facilities of the Detroit Three automakers, including Ford and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler). In the United States, approximately 25,000 members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union working for the Detroit Three are currently engaged in targeted strikes, while UAW members at Mack Trucks, a subsidiary of Volvo Group, walked out on Tuesday after overwhelmingly rejecting a proposed five-year contract.
Unifor had successfully ratified a new three-year contract with Ford last month, which included wage increases of up to 25% for over 5,600 workers at its Canadian facilities, without resorting to strike action. Unifor claimed last week that General Motors was showing "resistance" against certain key elements of their agreement with Ford.

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