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Unifor, the union representing some 18,000 Big Three autoworkers in Canada, said Tuesday it has selected Ford Motor Co. as the lead company with which it will bargain and pattern negotiations with the other automakers.
“I’ve concluded that the best opportunity for our union’s 18K members in the auto sector to achieve our bargaining objective is with Ford Motor Co.,” Unifor President Lana Payne said during a news conference.
Payne noted that she had previously said Ford might make the most sense as the lead company.
“I saw advantages with Ford,” she said. “I saw the clearest path on what will be a historic EV retooling of the Oakville Assembly Plant. I was encouraged by Ford Motor Co.’s transparency with our union on product programs and business plans. I was especially encouraged that Ford publicly stated their desire to lead, to craft a blueprint for the EV future, knowing full well our priorities as a union coming into these talks.”
“In the course of talks, Ford Motor Company articulated to us its own vision and framework,” she added. “And although there are areas of disagreement, there were also areas of alignment.”
Ford announced earlier this year that it would invest $1.3 billion to transform its Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario to assemble multiple electric vehicles and battery packs.
The announcement from Unifor comes after the union’s members overwhelmingly voted to authorize strikes with the Detroit automakers if necessary, a procedural step that takes place in the course of bargaining a new contract. It also comes as the United Auto Workers, which represents nearly 150,000 Big Three autoworkers in the United States, has indicated it will not select a lead company but rather bargain with all three simultaneously.
UAW members have also voted to authorize strikes against the Detroit Three.
This is a developing story. Check detroitnews.com for more.
jgrzelewski@detroitnews.com
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