#UnionNews
Plants, Parts and Pay on the Table as Fiat Chrysler Tries to Avert Midnight Strike
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles must make some pricey commitments to head off a midnight strike by its Canadian autoworkers.
Bargaining teams from FCA and Unifor, which represents Detroit Three autoworkers in Canada, worked throughout the weekend to nail down a contract deal patterned on the recent General Motors agreement.
Without product commitment for its Brampton assembly plant and Etobicoke casting plant, among other sticking points, workers could walk off the job tonight.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
No Turkey for Fiat Chrysler, Unifor as Monday Strike Deadline Looms
Canada, as the New York Times helpfully points out, actually celebrates Thanksgiving (!), but bargaining teams from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and autoworkers union Unifor won’t get to enjoy it.
The two groups are expected to bargain down to the last minute as contract talks approach Monday night’s strike deadline, the Windsor Star reports. Unlike recent bargaining between Unifor and General Motors, the FCA negotiations have been whisper quiet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t action happening behind the scenes.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
GM-Unifor Deal Won't Fly With Ford Workers: Union Official
GM Canada autoworkers seemed pretty pleased with the contract deal their union reached with the company, but Ford needs to put something different on the table to satisfy its employees.
The president of a Unifor local representing Canadian Ford workers said his members would have voted down the GM deal, Reuters reports.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
$56,410 Per Job? GM Could Get a Hefty Government Payout For Assembly Plant Investment
It looks like the prospect of getting a partial payback for its investment could have hastened the deal reached between General Motors Canada and its autoworkers’ union.
The automaker could have up to 40 percent of the money invested in its Canadian operations handed back by the Ontario and Canadian governments, according to a report in the Globe and Mail.
If the full amount is realized, it means a government cash injection of $56,410 per autoworker.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
BREAKING: GM Canada, Unifor Reach Tentative Deal, Avoid Strike; Oshawa Plant Saved
After contract negotiations went right down to the midnight deadline, GM Canada and autoworkers union Unifor reached a tentative deal last night, averting a looming strike at Canadian GM plants.
Bargaining teams from the automaker and Unifor, which represents Detroit Three workers in Canada, reached what union boss Jerry Dias called “a framework for a tentative agreement.” Not only does the deal avert a shutdown at three Ontario GM facilities, it saves the threatened century-old Oshawa assembly plant.
No jobs will be lost, and a new (but unnamed) product will go into production in Oshawa.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
With No New Product Promised, GM Canada Workers Could Walk Off the Job at Midnight
GM Canada and the union representing Detroit Three autoworkers north of the border have entered their final day of contract talks ahead of a midnight strike deadline.
Unless both sides achieve a breakthrough today, there’s little reason to believe a walkout at the company’s Oshawa, Woodstock and St. Catharines, Ontario facilities won’t occur as the clock strikes twelve.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
Government Cash Could Sweeten GM Canada Contract Talks; CAMI Workers and UAW Vow to Support Strike
With GM Canada and Detroit Three autoworkers union Unifor making little headway in contract negotiations, the possibility of government subsidies has raised its head.
At week’s end, the two sides were reportedly far apart as the clock ticks down to possible strike action at midnight on September 19. With General Motors as its strike target, Unifor lists new investment and product at the endangered Oshawa assembly plant as its number one demand.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the Canadian workers’ union boss is encouraged by talk of indirect federal government intervention.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
No More Mr. Nice Guy, Says Canadian Detroit Three Union Boss on Strike Chances
President for the union representing Detroit Three autoworkers north of the border says he has learned from past contract battles, and won’t make the same mistake this time.
Jerry Dias, president of Unifor, promises that no contract deal will be ratified without firm product commitments, including at General Motors’ endangered Oshawa assembly plant. If GM intends to shut that operation down, a Canada-wide strike is virtually guaranteed.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
GM Effectively Names Canada Its Global Homeroom for Advanced Vehicle Development
General Motors Canada announced today, along with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, that it will bolster engineering and software development efforts in Canada with a 700-job strong hiring initiative.
The work in question will focus on autonomous driving software and controls, connected vehicle tech, active safety and vehicle dynamics technology.
![Michael Accardi](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/657466_1.jpg?size=50x50)
Gunman Arrested Following Shooting of Chicago UAW Officials
The man who allegedly opened fire on two UAW officials last week, wounding both, has been arrested and charged, Chicago police announced late Tuesday.
William Cowart, 50, was brought in on charges of felony aggravated battery and discharging a firearm in connection with the June 3 shooting.
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
For Some Weird Reason, Volkswagen is Having a Hard Time Agreeing to Union Pay Hike Demands
It just posted its largest loss ever and is up to its eyebrows in scandal-related expenses, so what’s an automaker to do when the hands come out asking for more?
That’s the situation in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the scandal-rocked Volkswagen and its workers’ labor union find themselves engaged in an uncomfortable dance, according to Automotive News Europe.
The union, IG Metall, says the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal is no excuse for holding back raises to its 120,000 staff members, and Volkswagen says, “What? Sorry, can’t hear you — we’re driving into a tunnel…call back later.”
![Steph Willems](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/1318305_1.jpg?size=50x50)
News Round-up: Jag Going Racing, Saab Has a Plan, Teslas Are Expensive
This is the new News Round-up where we cover all the things you should know that may or may not deserve a headline on their own (or we may have simply run out of time to cover them). It’s similar to the “While Your Were Sleeping” news coverage, but not the same, hence the name change.
This morning, Jaguar announced they are going racing again, the automaker formerly known as Saab has a business plan and the Tesla Model X has a price spread that would make Porsche blush.
![Mark Stevenson](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/100622_1.jpg?size=50x50)
Union Protests Tesla Showroom, HQ With the Grim Reaper Driving a VW Thing
Following a similar effort last month at Tesla’s headquarters, Carpenters’ Local 713 of Hayward, CA, set up a protest on Friday outside the EV maker’s showroom in nearby San Jose, saying that the automaker’s policies “hurts workers, hurts families, hurts community.”
The protest was not without a bit of theater, including a giant papier-mâché puppet of death. Fliers were handed out saying “Shame on Them” and calling on the company to require “General Contractors and all their sub-contractors pay the Carpenter Area Standard Wages and Benefits on all jobs all the time”.
One assumes this labor dispute has to do with construction that Tesla is doing in California and not about the Gigafactory for making batteries that Tesla is building in Nevada, unless Local 713 is taking up the cause of their union brothers and sisters in the Silver State. The UAW has so far unsuccessfully attempted to organize Tesla’s assembly plant in Fremont, CA, formerly the UAW facility operated by GM and Toyota known as NUMMI.
![Ronnie Schreiber](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/media/profile/2022/07/20/34651_1.jpg?size=50x50)
Unifor May Follow UAW's Lead And Set Up "Voluntary" Local For Toyota
Canadian Toyota plant may be the next facilities to get a “voluntary” local, similar to what the UAW is proposing for Volkswagen’s Chattanooga factory.
![Derek Kreindler](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/resources/imgs-responsive/avatar-letters/avatar-D-F1C40F.png?size=50x50)
Mercedes-Benz Employees Tell The UAW To Get Packing
Frustrated by the lack of results brought by the UAW, a group of Mercedes-Benz employees located at their Alabama factory is seeking to replace the UAW as their partner in organizing the plant.
![Derek Kreindler](https://cdn-fastly.thetruthaboutcars.com/resources/imgs-responsive/avatar-letters/avatar-D-F1C40F.png?size=50x50)
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