New Collective Agreement

The new collective agreement signed between Ford and Unifor includes commitments from the company for total investments of $1.95 billion. This includes $148 million for the building of a new engine at the Windsor operations and $1.8 billion to retool the Oakville assembly plant to produce battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The retool is scheduled to begin in 2024 with the first BEV to roll off the assembly line in 2026.

A letter from Ford's Vice-President of Human Resources to Unifor's National President summarizes the investments the company intends to make in Windsor-Essex and Oakville and also confirms the commitment which was required from the union to work in partnership with the company to ensure that Ford remains competitive in the auto industry. The letter concludes as follows; "Accordingly, the union agreed that it would partner with the company to approach provincial and federal governments to obtain financial incentives that will support the business case and contribute to the success of this vision as set out in the letter."

In line with the demands of the Ford monopoly, even as negotiations between Unifor and Ford continued, the federal government announced its $500 million contribution to help Ford "produce electric vehicles." The Ontario government has yet to make any statement about the extent of their financing of the retooling of the Ford plant.

Excerpts from the Collective Agreement

Wages:

1) 2.5 per cent increase effective September 28, 2020;

2) instead of a wage increase in the second year, there will be a lump sum payment of 4 per cent of earnings from the previous 12 months, effective September 27, 2021; and

3) 2.5 per cent wage increase in the third year effective September 26, 2022.

Adjustments to the two-tier wage system for new hires:

A newly hired worker, instead of receiving 61.25 per cent of the 2012 base rate, as is currently the case, will receive 65 per cent of the prevailing rate. The new contract also provides that new hires can reach the prevailing rate in eight years instead of the ten years required by the previous contract.

A full summary of the collective agreement is available here. 

This article was published in

Number 68 - October 8, 2020

Article Link:
New Collective Agreement

    

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