© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Ford logo at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
By Nathan Gomes and Mrinmay Dey
(Reuters) -Canadian union Unifor said on Sunday its members had voted to ratify a new contract with Ford Motor (NYSE:), a relief for the Detroit automaker caught in a separate dispute with its U.S. union over demands for better salaries and benefits. in the country.
Unifor, which represents about 5,600 Canadian auto workers, said its members at Ford ratified a new three-year collective bargaining agreement.
Ford has offered union members pay increases of up to 25% in their new contract. The agreement provides a 10% salary increase during the first year, followed by 2% and 3% increases during the second and third years and a productivity and quality bonus of $10,000 for all active employees of the company.
The Detroit automaker reached a last-minute deal earlier this week, avoiding strikes at its Canadian operations. On Friday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced an expansion of its strikes in the United States against General Motors (NYSE and Stellantis (NYSE ).
The UAW said it had made real progress in talks with Ford, but that its workers would remain on strike at the automaker’s assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan.
Unifor had sought better wages and pensions, support in the transition to electric vehicles and additional investment commitments from Ford. The union has yet to reach an agreement with Stellantis and GM to avoid strikes at its Canadian facilities.
Ford’s new agreement covers Unifor members at the company’s plants in Ontario, as well as its parts distribution centers in Bramalea and Paris, Ontario, and in Alberta.
Unlike the UAW, Unifor chose one of the Detroit Three as a “target” to negotiate first – in this case, Ford – in a template negotiating tactic used to set the tone for subsequent deals with other companies.
