Posts tagged Unifor
GM expects labor contracts to cost an additional $9.3 billion
November 29, 2023 // In their Wednesday business update, GM told investors and customers that the contracts, which included massive pay and benefit increases for its workers, would cost the company significantly. The car giant also reinstated its 2023 business guidance and announced a $10 accelerated stock buyback. Additionally, GM released its estimate for how much the UAW strike cost the firm. According to the Wednesday announcement, GM estimates that the strikes, which began in September and ended late last month, cost the company around $1.1 billion, with bonuses and other benefit increases likely costing the company an additional $200 million before the end of the year.
Jeep maker Stellantis makes a new contract offer as auto workers prepare to expand their strike
September 21, 2023 // GM said that the UAW strike at its assembly plant near St. Louis caused it to idle a plant in Kansas with about 2,000 workers because “there is no work available” — the plant depends on parts stamped in the St. Louis-area facility. GM said it does not expect to restart the Kansas plant until the strike ends, and it won’t provide supplemental pay to the workers. The company said the layoffs demonstrated “that nobody wins in a strike.” Stellantis, which makes Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, said it expects to lay off more than 300 workers in Ohio and Indiana because “storage constraints” caused by the UAW strike at its assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio.
Auto suppliers say if UAW strikes expand to more plants, it could mean the end for many
September 20, 2023 // There are about 1,000 supplier facilities in Michigan, he said, noting that 96 of the top 100 suppliers to the North American auto market either have their headquarters or a facility in Michigan. So if the strike expands to other automaker plants and lasts into weeks, the job layoffs could reach into tens of thousands. "You have the direct employment and you have the multiplier affect of each of the automotive jobs and that is between six to 10 people for every one automaker job, so it’s substantial," Stevens said. "This is the largest industry in our economy. It has an economic contribution of over $300 billion annually to the state of Michigan.
Canadian union Unifor names Ford as bargaining target among Detroit Three
September 1, 2023 // Unifor's choice could be a boost for Ford, giving the automaker an opportunity to tailor terms of the agreement to its advantage. "We have maintained open communication with the UAW ... but we have our own priorities in Canada," Payne told a press conference.
2 rail unions vote to go on strike at CN if talks falter
March 8, 2023 // The vote on whether to go to strike was 98% of Local 100 members and 97% of Council 4000 members, according to a Sunday news release. Both sides are anticipated to head back to the bargaining table next week. Wages and benefits are one of the issues of contention. Although wages and benefits improved in the latest proposed agreement, the compensation falls under today’s inflationary rates, the union said in a previous statement.
Stellantis CEO: ‘We have zero problem with unions’ at battery plants
September 15, 2022 // Tavares' own comments come after members of UAW Local 1166, which represents employees at Stellantis' Kokomo Casting Plant in Indiana, went on strike for almost three days over a local contract. Workers demanded repairs to the facility's heating and air-conditioning system, paid uniforms and other workplace improvements. They ratified an agreement on Monday. National contracts with both the UAW and Unifor are about a year away from their expiration date. The bargaining will mark the first for Stellantis, formed in the 2021 merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and French automaker Groupe PSA. FCA last year pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Labor Management Relations Act, subjecting it to a $30 million fine and three years of labor relations oversight by a court-appointed independent monitor, after three executives were found to have bribed UAW officials. Carlos Tavares, Samsung SDI in Kokomo,
Jerry Dias, resigned president of Canadian autoworkers union Unifor, under investigation
March 17, 2022 // In that time, Dias acted as a consultant to the Canadian government and its negotiating team on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement; launched a campaign to save General Motors Co.'s plant in Oshawa, Ontario; and helped workers navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.