Workers at General Motors Co.’s Canadian plants are on strike, idling key factories in Ontario, after contract negotiations with the union representing about 4,300 employees failed to bring an agreement. (Cole Burston/Bloomberg )
General Motors Co. reached a contract with its Canadian union, ending a strike that began about 13 hours earlier at three plants in Ontario.
The three-year agreement will increase base hourly wages by almost 20% for production workers and 25% for skilled trades, the union said in a statement. The deal also increases starting pay for temporary part-time workers and boosts pensions.
The contract matches “to the letter” what Ford Motor Co. agreed to in negotiations last month, according to Unifor, which represents 4,300 GM workers in Canada. It still has to be ratified by union members.
“Work will resume at all three facilities this afternoon,” GM said in a statement. The contract “recognizes the many contributions of our represented team members with significant increases in wages, benefits and job security while building on GM’s historic investments in Canadian manufacturing.”
Shares of General Motors were up 1.5% to $31.47 at 2:05 p.m. in New York.
The walkout hit GM at a time when it’s already dealing with US strikes by the United Auto Workers. It affected three GM facilities, including an assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, that produces Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks and a powertrain plant in St. Catharines, Ontario. Oshawa is the smallest of GM’s plants producing full-size pickup trucks, generating an estimated $50 million of earnings before interest and taxes, Wells Fargo said in a note to investors.
The Canadian strike started when the sides couldn’t reach an accord by a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Toronto time Monday night.
Ford’s unionized workers voted 54% to ratify their deal.
