The action by some 12,700 U.S. autoworkers comes ahead of the Sept. 18 strike deadline for 5,680 unionized workers at Ford of Canada. The Unifor members, along with their counterparts at GM and Stellantis, gave their representatives an overwhelming strike mandate as the union targets Ford for intensive bargaining toward a contract that will set the pattern for negotiations with GM and Stellantis.
In a webcast statement on Thursday evening before the UAW strike, Unifor’s Ms. Payne called the auto talks historic, coming at a time working people are struggling with soaring inflation while the automakers make record profits. At the same time, the auto sector is amid a pivot to producing plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles, spending billions to retool factories and upending workforces.
“There’s a number of U.S. plants that supply Canada and vice-versa. There’s a number of criss-crossing lines,” said K. Venkatesh Prasad, senior vice-president of research at Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research.The automotive manufacturing sector employs about 135,000 people in Canada, most of whom are in Ontario. Vehicles are Canada’s second-largest export by value, according to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, which lobbies for the Detroit Three.
The U.S. strike targeted factories that make Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler and Chevrolet Colorado pickup trucks, and other models.