September 8, 2020
TORONTO—Unifor National President Jerry Dias has chosen Ford Motor Company as the union’s strike target to set the pattern agreement with the Detroit Three automakers.
“I selected Ford because we think the company is prepared to reward our members, make a commitment to continue manufacturing in Canada, and has a vision that we think is in the best interest of the industry and the economy,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, speaking at a news conference streamed live on Unifor’s Facebook page. “Worldwide we have seen more than $300 billion dollars announced for electric vehicle production and not one dime is destined for Canada. Our members want that to change.”
For decades, it has been the union’s practice to strategically choose which of the three Detroit Three companies the union will negotiate with first—setting a pattern agreement for auto workers in Canada. There are multiple factors considered by the union, in consultation with the master bargaining committees, in making this decision, based on two key goals: building Canada’s auto industry and achieving the union’s bargaining objectives.
Once an agreement with the target company is ratified by members, bargaining shifts to a second company, and then the third.
“The Oakville assembly plant is the last of Ford’s assembly plants left in Canada and has no firm product commitment beyond the current generation of the Ford Edge. This is a significant problem for our members and it should be a concern for all levels of government,” said Dias.
“Our members are pleased to go first and want to forge their own destiny, which is why we have worked hard to build a productive relationship with this employer,” said John D’Agnolo, Chair of the Ford Master Bargaining Committee and President of Unifor Local 200.
Unifor represents 6,300 workers at Ford Motor Company, 9,000 workers at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and 4,100 at General Motors.
Unifor opened formal contract talks in Toronto on August 12th, with the theme The Future is Made in Canada. The union has repeatedly urged the federal government to create a comprehensive manufacturing strategy for the auto sector, given that every auto assembly job creates or supports as many as 10 additional jobs throughout the economy.
A digital media kit be found on this website and a downloadable 4K version of today’s news conference is available to media upon request.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
“My message to you Loblaw is that you should be damned ashamed of yourself,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias outside Loblaws flagship grocery store in downtown Toronto. “Galen Westin’s net worth is 8.7 billion dollars. This is an employer that is eliminating full-time jobs so that they don’t have to provide benefits to their workers.”
Unifor members held information pickets at Loblaw owned locations across the country, including Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Windsor, Kitchener, Port Elgin, Toronto, Sydney, Saint John, Antigonish and multiple locations across Newfoundland including Grand Falls, Gander and St. John’s.
On day 17 on the picket line Atlantic Regional Director Linda MacNeil warned that billionaire Galen Westin better start listening to his workers.
“These are the same workers who got them through the pandemic, who came into work every single day, made sure there was food on the table, and they are the same workers who had pandemic pay snatched away by the big bosses at Loblaw,” said Ontario Regional Director Naureen Rizvi. “We’re leafleting Loblaw’s customers from coast-to-coast-to-coast. We want customers to be part of a national dialogue on the struggle of retail workers.”
“We’ve heard a lot during this pandemic about COVID heroes and that we’re all in this together but when push comes to shove the billionaires want to make sure that they get even richer. They want to rip away the pandemic pay and they want to make sure that they continue these part-time jobs,” said McGarrigle. “Let’s make sure that we don’t just talk about respecting these COVID heroes and that we treat them with the respect and the pay they deserve.”
“Fairness isn’t so simple with Loblaw, and many other union and non-union retailers, with their failed strategy of part-time work and low wages. What we’re seeing in Newfoundland is not unique and a business model reliant on part-time work tied to poor wages is not acceptable,” MacDonald said.
