Unifor reaches tentative contract agreement with Stellantis, ending brief strike

TORONTO – Unifor announced Monday it has reached a tentative deal with Stellantis, ending a brief strike at the automaker as it closes in on the third and final agreement with a Detroit Three automaker.

More than 8,200 workers represented by Unifor had walked off the job at Stellantis facilities in Canada after the two sides failed to reach a deal by a Sunday deadline, however the union and the company continued to negotiate through the night.

The union said that while the strike was brief, it was an “important act of solidarity and determination.”

“It demonstrated the strength of our union and provided your bargaining team with the means to achieve a tentative agreement that meets both the core economic demands in the union’s pattern agreement and our Stellantis-specific demands,” reads a joint statement from Unifor national president Lana Payne, Stellantis master bargaining chairperson James Stewart and Vito Beato, Stellantis master bargaining acting vice-chairperson.

The deal with the automaker behind such brands as Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep comes after Unifor reached earlier agreements with Ford Motor Co. and General Motors. A strike by Unifor members at GM also lasted less than a day.

Stellantis North America chief operating officer Mark Stewart said he was proud of the negotiating teams and thankful for their commitment.

“Once ratified, this agreement will reward our 8,000 represented employees and protect the long-term health of our Canadian operations,” Stewart said in a statement.

The tentative agreement covers workers at assembly plants in Windsor, Ont., and Brampton, Ont., a casting plant in Toronto and parts distribution centres in Mississauga, Ont., and Red Deer, Alta.

Unifor had been seeking agreement from the automaker to the same core economic terms the union reached with Ford and GM, as well as specifics from Stellantis on its electric vehicle plans for its Canadian plants.

The union said Monday the agreement with Stellantis follows the pattern agreement that will raise base hourly wages over the life of the three-year agreement by nearly 20 per cent for production workers and 25 per cent for skilled trades.

In addition, the pattern agreement includes improvements to all pension plans and two new additional paid holidays as well as other improvements.

In the U.S., Stellantis had seen escalating strikes over the past six weeks from United Auto Workers members at its operations there, but the company reached a tentative deal with the union as of Saturday.