GM contract talks for Oshawa, St. Catharines now set for October 9

Now that the Ford workers have their contract settled, it’s time for the General Motors unions in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock to do likewise.

That said, the auto union Unifor set a deadline for contract talks to begin with GM at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 9.

The GM talks cover about 4,300 workers at the automaker’s St. Catharines Powertrain Plant, the Oshawa Assembly Complex and the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.

According to the Canadian Press, Unifor is looking to use its agreement at Ford as a pattern agreement in its talks with GM and Stellantis, formerly Chrysler/Jeep.

The Ford deal included wage hikes, pension and benefit improvements, and special EV transition measures for workers at Ford’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ont.

It also added two new paid holidays.

~ with files from Canadian Press