If the ongoing UAW strike was hurting GM
Now Canada is in on the money grab as they strike GM within Canada
This affects Corvette as engines built there
The Canadian union representing General Motors Co. workers at three plants called for a strike against the automaker early Tuesday.
Unifor called for the work stoppage against GM shortly after 11:59 p.m.
Monday deadline it had set earlier to reach a tentative agreement with the company.
Unifor’s negotiations with GM cover about 4,300 workers at the St. Catharines Powertrain Plant building engines for the Chevrolet Equinox and Corvette, Oshawa Assembly Complex making light- and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and parts for other vehicles, and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre in Ontario.
Unifor's strike against GM was called on day 26 of an unprecedented strike by the United Auto Workers representing American autoworkers at GM, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV. GM-UAW members are on strike at the Wentzville, Missouri, midsize truck plant, the Lansing Delta Township Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse plant and all of GM's Customer Care and Aftersales facilities. In total, about 9,200 UAW-represented GM employees are on strike in the United States.
Unifor's strike was called after Unifor President Lana Payne on Friday told members the two sides remained at odds over several issues because GM wasn't agreeing to follow aspects of the pact Unifor got with Ford.
Late last month, Unifor/Ford members ratified a new three-year deal that included the single largest negotiated general wage increase in the history of Unifor, formerly the Canadian Auto Workers.
The deal offered increases of 10% the first year, 2% the second year and 3% the year after, as well as cost-of-living adjustments. It also reduced the amount of time an in-progression employee needs to reach the top pay scale from eight years to four.
For those workers who haven't reached top scale, it raised the percentage those workers get in the first three years.
One issue Payne mentioned on Friday was that GM was resisting transitioning full-time temporary workers to permanent-employee status. GM was also seeking a lower universal healthcare allowance for retirees than the quarterly allowance Ford agreed to, Payne said.
Payne also noted that Unifor had not received anything confirming the existing programs and future programs GM has announced, including next-generation pickup trucks at Oshawa and electric drive units at St. Catharines.
Payne said at the time, Unifor expected "to see these commitments in writing and in the collective agreement. GM knows this, but there have been no advancements on this front to date."