Last week, the UAW membership voted overwhelmingly in favor of approving a strike if negotiations require it. Now, Unifor has announced that the Canadian autoworkers it represents have followed suit, providing it with a strike mandate.
Ford, GM, and Stellantis are in the midst of contract negotiations with their workers both at home and north of the border. In both cases, workers are overwhelmingly in favor of striking in order to secure fair contracts, Unifor and the UAW say.
“Canadian autoworkers have sent a strong message to D3 automakers that they are united behind our bargaining committees in an effort to improve pensions, increase wages, and secure good, union jobs in the EV future,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne in a statement Monday. “Make no mistake, our union is fully prepared to take any and all necessary action to achieve our collective bargaining objectives.”
Read: UAW Membership Votes Overwhelmingly To Authorize Strike If Negotiations Fail
Unifor paused its contract negotiations over the weekend in order to hold a vote and secure a strike mandate. The results show that 98.1 percent of Stellantis workers, 98.9 percent of Ford workers, and 99 percent of GM workers voted in favor of the measure.
Strikes are not guaranteed in Canada or the U.S., but both unions are demanding big things from the automakers. Unifor says its main goals are to “address the erosion of wages” in the wake of inflation, and “redress at least some of the sacrifices workers made in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the UAW is also negotiating for wage increases to offset inflation, the right to strike over plant closures, the end of tiered wages and benefits, and more. In its case, the deadline for a contract is September 14, and the union’s president, Shawn Fein, has said he is not interested in extending that deadline.
Both cite record profits, rising executive salaries, and years of sacrifice as reasons its workers deserve more in these latest contract negotiations.
