(WXYZ) — Unifor, the union representing Canadian auto workers, says they have reached an agreement in their negotiations with Ford Motor Company.
The union and automaker reached the agreement hours before the midnight deadline, which had already been extended Monday.
The announcement came in a posting on the union's website. It reads as follows:
Hello Unifor auto members,
Your bargaining committee has successfully reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Company this evening.
Your bargaining committee is proudly and unanimously recommending this tentative agreement with elected representatives from Local 707 in Oakville, Locals 200 and 240 in Windsor, Locals 584 and 1324 in Paris, Casselman and Bramalea, and Local 1087 in Leduc, Alberta.
When faced with the prospect of an all-out strike by 5,600 Unifor members at every single one of Ford’s facilities in Canada, the company made a significant offer to the union. This offer was received just minutes before our strike deadline at 11:59 p.m. on September 18. It was significant enough to allow for a 24-hour extension.
We leveraged our union’s most powerful weapon: the right to strike.
The exceptional commitment of your bargaining committee ensured that negotiations were able to progress, while our strike plan was ready. Having so many union members working together to support their bargaining team on the shop floor and online was incredible to see. We showed Ford Motor Company what solidarity looks like.
The gains achieved were hard fought for over weeks of negotiations at every subcommittee, local and main economic bargaining table. This painstaking work has resulted in fundamental, transformative gains that addressed our core priorities of pensions, wages and the EV transition.
The union will now prepare to present this unanimously endorsed tentative agreement in full detail to the membership at upcoming ratification meetings. The locations and times will be shared in the coming days. All Unifor members at Ford Motor Company should continue to monitor their emails and regularly check autotalks.ca for updates.
If you have not yet confirmed your contact details to your union local, you must do so as soon as possible. Confirming your details with the union ensures you will receive important details about the ratification and voting process.
We look forward to answering your questions at the ratification meetings.
In solidarity,
Lana Payne
John D’Agnolo
Marc Brennan
