Canada's Unifor Ratifies Labor Agreement With GM

(RTTNews) - Unifor members at General Motors (GM) have voted to ratify the pattern agreement by 80.5%, the Canadian union said in a statement on Sunday.

The union said that the newly ratified three-year collective agreement covers more than 4,300 workers at the Oshawa Assembly Plant, St. Catharines Powertrain Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre. The new contract expires on September 20, 2026.

The ratified agreement with General Motors follows the pattern agreement first negotiated by Unifor with Ford of Canada. The contract cuts the wage progression grid from eight to four years, dramatically reducing the time it takes workers to reach the top rate of pay. The improvement is particularly significant for members at Oshawa Assembly Plant, where the majority of workers were hired since the plant reopened in 2021.

According to the union, members with one and two years seniority will see their hourly pay increase by between 63% to 73% over the life of the agreement. Wages for top of scale workers will increase by nearly 20% for production workers and 25% for Skilled Trades. The pattern also includes the reinstatement of a Cost of Living Allowance for the first time since 2008 to help protect workers wages from rising inflation and will benefit retirees with a new quarterly Universal Health Allowance.

Over the life of the agreement, hundreds of temporary part-time workers across GM facilities in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock will also be converted to permanent full-time positions.