Canadian auto workers, represented by Unifor, voted overwhelmingly over the weekend to ratify a new three-year labor contract with General Motors.
The agreement covers more than 4,300 automotive workers at the Oshawa Assembly Plant, the St. Catharines Powertrain Plant and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Center in Ontario and expires September 20, 2026. Members voted 80.5% to ratify the agreement.
“I am proud of our members at General Motors for their solidarity during their brief but decisive strike action and for ratifying this contract that contains life-changing improvements,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a news release Sunday. “This agreement reflects genuine collective bargaining. Our goal was to create more fairness and justice in workplaces in the automotive industry and to promote everyone. That’s what we did.”
The tentative agreement was reached Tuesday between Unifor and GM, just a day after Unifor began a strike against the automaker.
More: Unifor’s preliminary deal with General Motors: All the details
The contract with GM is modeled on the model agreement ratified with Ford Motor Co. on Sept. 24 and guarantees an average wage increase of nearly 20% for production workers and 25% for tradespeople over the life of the agreement. It also introduces a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the first time since 2008 and provides retirees with a new quarterly general health allowance.
Hundreds of temporary, part-time automotive workers at GM’s three plants will also be converted to permanent, full-time positions by August 1, 2026, at which point GM will eliminate full-time temporary positions.
“This contract will immediately convert hundreds of part-time workers to full-time employees and put an end to abuse of the temporary worker program,” Jason Gale, GM bargaining chair at Unifor, said in a news release.
Additionally, the newly ratified agreement shortens the wage progression timeline from eight to four years, allowing workers to reach maximum wages in half the time. According to Unifor’s press release, members with one and two years of service can expect their hourly wages to increase by up to 73% over the course of the three-year agreement.
GM Canda released a statement thanking Unifor and its members for their determination and collaboration while securing a place for auto workers in the transition to electric vehicles and the future of the automotive industry.
“Nothing worthwhile is ever easy – and labor negotiations are no exception,” said Marissa West, president and chief executive officer of GM Canada. “Together, we have entered into an agreement that recognizes the many contributions of our 4,200 represented team members through significant increases in wages, benefits and job security, while enabling GM Canada to remain competitive well into the future… There is little we can’t do can achieve if we work together.”
The contract’s ratification comes more than a month after the UAW, Unifor’s U.S. counterpart, launched a strike on Sept. 14 against targeted plants owned by three Detroit automakers, Ford, GM and Stellantis. The strike has expanded three times since then, leaving about 34,000 of the country’s 150,000 UAW auto workers waiting for a resolution.