Unifor is bargaining today to win over workers of tomorrow

Unifor has something to prove in this year’s contract talks with the Detroit Three, not just to current members at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, but to thousands of others poised to start work in Canada’s automotive supply chain in the next few years.

Union President Lana Payne is fond of saying this is a special “moment” for the labour move-ment in Canada. The ongoing 2023 auto talks will put that refrain to the test.

The first happens this weekend, when Ford workers cast their ballots in a ratification vote.

Automaker profits are up, inflation is high and the Canadian auto industry is on firmer footing than it has been in decades. All this puts Unifor in a strong position to hammer out a precedent-setting deal for the roughly 20,000 workers it currently represents at the Detroit Three.

Union leadership has not disclosed specific wage demands, but Payne and other top negotiators haven’t been shy about their intentions to meet high worker expectations. Given the current climate, it’s unlikely that workers are ready to accept a collective agreement offering anything less.

But as Ford and GM shore up their electric-vehicle battery supply chains with joint-venture materials plants in Quebec, and Stellantis and new entrant Volkswagen build battery-cell plants in southwestern Ontario, this year’s bargaining talks will cast a long shadow.

Unifor hasn’t minced words about having eyes to unionize each of those plants.

“They should be all Unifor plants going forward, either the easy way or the hard way,” Payne told me in August.

But these aren’t typical vehicle assembly operations where Unifor is well-established, said Brendan Sweeney, managing director of the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, which advocates for industry in Ontario.

“It is possible that the employer will just recognize a union and maybe adopt a collective agreement, but I don’t think it’s going to happen in this case,” he said.

Instead, Sweeney expects Unifor will need to fight to organize each plant, which means selling itself to workers hired over the next few years.

It might also need to stave off possible challenges from other unions. Sweeney pointed to the United Steelworkers as likely to take an interest in the plants, given its strong representation in the Canadian chemical industry. Battery plants fall more neatly into that sector, even if they’re ultimately serving automotive, he said.

Beyond the battery supply-chain sites directly affiliated with automakers, other suppliers are establishing new plants in Canada.

Even using conservative job-creation estimates, the EV era is poised to create tens of thousands of jobs in Canada throughout the automotive and battery supply chains by 2030.

If Unifor is able to seize the opportunity, the booming sector sets up the union for significant membership growth.

Strong gains in its collective agreements with the Detroit Three this year would strengthen the union’s hand, illustrating the value of Unifor representation to the incoming wave of battery supply-chain workers.

Meagre wage increases that fall short of members’ expectations, on the other hand, would make it more difficult for the union to make its case to prospective new members.

Stakes are high in every round of auto bargaining, but 2023 takes on special significance with future battery plant workers undoubtedly watching.