Unifor begins talks with General Motors after deal with Ford

TORONTO — Unifor and General Motors have begun negotiations on a new labour contract, with talks kicking off at a downtown Toronto bargaining table Monday.

The union represents more than 4,600 members at Ontario GM facilities, including the Oshawa assembly plant, the CAMI facility in Ingersoll as well as operations in St. Catharines and Woodstock.

Unifor national president Lana Payne and Jack Uppal, president and managing director at GM Canada, shook hands to mark the beginning of discussions.

Chairs lined the conference room where officials sat on opposite ends, with Payne sitting in the middle of the room and Uppal sitting directly across.

“We’re entering this next round of negotiations with the solid foundation established by the pattern agreement with Ford, and we intend to have meaningful discussions on company operations and the future of auto jobs at GM in Canada,” Payne said in a news release Monday.

The union has set a target deadline of Aug. 21 to reach a tentative agreement with GM.

Uppal said in a news release Monday that the company is entering into negotiations with “profound respect for the collective bargaining process” as well as the role its employees play in its success.

“Since 2020, we have invested $3.3 billion in our Canadian manufacturing plants, enabling next-generation products that will secure thousands of Canadian jobs for years to come, and our goal is to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that supports our employees while keeping GM Canada competitive for the long term,” he said.

In July, Unifor members approved a new three-year contract with Ford that included three per cent annual pay increases.

Other elements of the deal, which takes effect Sept. 21, included a renewal of a no-closure agreement.

It also included program commitments at all Ford facilities, like a third shift at its engine plant in Essex, Ont., forecasted for 2029. Unifor and Ford also agreed to introduce a program that provides laid-off workers from the company’s Oakville, Ont., assembly plant a pathway to full employment by July 2027.

The union has said the agreement with Ford marked successful pattern-setting negotiations.

In pattern bargaining, a union negotiates with one company to set terms that it hopes to replicate with other companies in the same sector.

Ford workers covered by the master agreement voted 74 per cent for the deal, while members at two locals voted 97 per cent and 100 per cent in favour.

Payne said in a July interview that the agreement with Ford marked a precedent with key gains around wage increases and job security.

“I have confidence in what we’ve negotiated here because history shows us if we do hit a rough patch, that there’s a way to work our way through that,” Payne said at the time.

However, she did acknowledge differences between Ford and its other automotive counterparts — GM and Stellantis — that could make those talks more complicated.

Namely, General Motors’ Ingersoll assembly plant and Stellantis’ Brampton assembly plant both currently sit idle with thousands of workers laid off.

“The difference is that they have taken decisions that were different than Ford Motor Co. throughout the last 18 months,” said Payne, referring to the period of trade uncertainty that Canada has faced since the introduction of auto tariffs.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that those contract talks will also be tough and quite frustrating. But we have to fight for this industry here, and this is one of the ways that we can do it.”

The current edition of bargaining between Unifor and the remaining Detroit Three automakers also comes alongside headwinds for the sector.

The union has previously highlighted challenges such as U.S. tariffs, the Trump administration’s decision not to extend the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, and the introduction of Chinese electric vehicles into Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026.

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press