Ford Motor Company and Unifor have come to a preliminary agreement on a three-year labor contract, with specific details to be disclosed at a later time. Unifor represents around 5,000 employees at five plants in southern Ontario and one in Alberta.
Negotiations commenced at the end of the previous month while agreements with all three major American automakers, including Stellantis and General Motors, were set to expire. The union chose to initiate talks with Ford first and plans to engage with the other two automakers following the ratification of the Ford agreement.
Unifor has outlined that Ford workers will have the opportunity to vote on the contract from July 17 to 19, with the results to be announced after the final vote. In a statement, Ford of Canada stated that they will not disclose the specifics of the tentative agreement to honor the ratification process.
John D’Agnolo, the Unifor Ford Master Bargaining Chair from Windsor, Ontario, expressed anticipation in presenting the tentative agreement to the members. The negotiations aim to secure improved pay, job security, and benefits for nearly 19,000 members across Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.
The agreement will be subject to approval by Ford-Unifor members, as the current collective agreements between Unifor and the automakers are set to expire on September 20. The union initiated discussions earlier than usual citing challenging economic conditions, as workforce layoffs have been witnessed across facilities owned by the three automakers due to production shifts and halts.