General Motors will keep Chevrolet Silverado production running in Canada after reaching a tentative agreement with Unifor. On Tuesday, the union went on strike for a few hours at three GM facilities, including Oshawa Assembly that produces the popular and profitable pickup truck.
Unifor authorized a strike earlier in the day after the automaker refused “to meet the pattern agreement,” according to the union’s national president, Lana Payne. The strike came after it had reached an agreement with Ford of Canada that offered wage increases of up to 25 percent in the country, and GM is now following suit.
The Unifor strike also targeted GM’s St. Catharines powertrain plant and Woodstock parts distribution center. All three are in Ontario. St. Catharines builds various engines and engine components, like the V8 for the Chevrolet Corvette. Work is scheduled to resume at the factories this afternoon.
Unionized workers in the US are also negotiating with GM, Ford, and Stellantis for new contracts. The UAW went on strike at the US automakers just over three weeks ago, simultaneously targeting all three for the first time in the union’s history as it hopes to reach a historic contract.
Last Friday, General Motors narrowly avoided having the UAW strike at its Arlington, Texas, truck plant, which would have also affected Silverado production. At the last minute, the company agreed to include its battery manufacturing under the UAW’s Master Agreement. That means future EV jobs at GM will be unionized. The strike in the US currently affects 43 facilities in 21 states.
The labor organization last expanded its strike against Ford and GM on September 29. Stellantis avoided additional action on that day by agreeing to cost-of-living adjustments and other benefits. The UAW did not expand its strike action against General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford last Friday as it is making progress in its negotiations.
The UAW also recently went on strike at Mack Trucks. Nearly 4,000 members joined the 25,000 picketing GM, Ford, and Stellantis yesterday. The strike action led to walkouts at multiple facilities in three states, even though the company reached a tentative agreement with workers on October 1. Union members rejected it by 73 percent.
