- The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Canadian auto union Unifor reached a tentative agreement with General Motors late Tuesday, ending a 12-hour strike at the company. 

According to Unifor, the accord matches the union’s deal with Ford, which included a 25% wage increase and improvements to benefits. Union members must vote to approve the contract before it goes into effect. 

The agreement brings over 4,000 Unifor members back to their factories after a 12-hour strike Tuesday. The union announced the strike late Monday after GM apparently refused to match Ford’s deal. 

“When faced with the shutdown of these key facilities, General Motors had no choice but to get serious at the table and agree to the pattern,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said, referring to the agreement. 

Unifor now has a tentative contract with two of the Detroit big three automakers, with only Chrysler’s parent company Stellantis left. Ms. Payne said she expects the company to at least match the deal and that the union will fight for a fair contract. 

The agreement likely comes as a big relief to GM, which is dealing with a United Auto Workers strike in the U.S. UAW members have struck two GM assembly plants and 18 parts distribution centers since the beginning of the strike last month. As a result, GM has lost over 34,000 vehicles of production. 

The strike has hurt union workers as well. GM alone has fired around 2,300 employees since the start of the strike.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.

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