(Toronto) Workers at three major automakers have voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing their union to go on strike if bargaining committees fail to reach new collective agreements in the coming months.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union, says its members at Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis all voted between 98 and 99 percent in favor of a strike mandate.
The vote took place this weekend, as Unifor suspended negotiations to hold strike votes. The current batch of labor contracts, which cover 18,000 workers at Detroit’s Big Three automakers, are set to expire before midnight Sept. 18.
The results reflect a strike mandate issued on Friday by members of the US union United Auto Workers, who are negotiating simultaneously with the trio of automakers.
Unifor National President Lana Payne released a statement saying the union’s bargaining teams are ready to resume bargaining with the support of members across the auto sector and are ready to take any steps necessary to achieve their goals.
She says their bargaining committees are focused on improving pensions, raising wages and securing good union jobs in the electric vehicle future.
