Unifor National President Lana Payne speaks to media after the opening of bargaining between Unifor and Stellantis, in Toronto, on Tuesday.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
Unifor kicked off contract talks with automaker Stellantis NV on Tuesday, the first negotiations to take place since Canada-U.S. trade talks failed and U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his threats to destroy the Canadian automotive industry with more tariffs.
Lana Payne, Unifor national president, described the negotiations as the toughest to take place with the Detroit Three automakers, maybe ever.
Unifor is pushing to reach an agreement with Stellantis by Sept. 11 after members ratified deals with Ford and General Motors that provide 3-per-cent raises in each of the contracts’ three years.
Unifor turns focus to Stellantis after reaching deals with GM and Ford
Unifor has vowed to fight to match the other agreements and keep the Stellantis Brampton assembly plant from closing for good, while securing production volumes at factories in Windsor and Toronto.
The Stellantis talks have begun after trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. fell apart on Aug. 21. The U.S. has applied 50-per-cent tariffs on a range of Canadian imports, and said it will impose the same levy on cars and auto parts on Jan. 1. Canada announced retaliatory tariffs, deepening the divisions between the trading partners.
The U.S. last year ignited the trade war with 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian-made cars, minus U.S. content, and 50 per cent on steel and aluminum. Canada responded with 25-per-cent tariffs on the U.S. content of U.S.-made cars, with exceptions for automakers that build a certain number of vehicles in Canada.
Ms. Payne said the tariffs have created an “existential crisis for our auto industry,” warning that the levies on auto parts would shut down the North American auto industry within 10 days.
“The most powerful leader in the world has said that he does not want us building cars or trucks or anything,” Ms. Payne said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“There is going to be a time when this will be behind us, and we have to make sure that we’re protecting the auto footprint in Canada for when we get to that moment,” Ms. Payne said.
Stellantis’ assembly plant in Brampton, Ont., has been idle since 2023. Unifor said it would focus on stopping the plant from closing for good, as part of contract negotiations.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Stellantis employs more than 9,000 Unifor workers, most of those at the Windsor assembly plants making Chrysler minivans and Dodge Chargers. The carmaker also runs a casting plant in the west end of Toronto.
The Brampton plant closed in 2023 and has 2,200 Unifor workers on layoff. The plant was to be retooled to make the Jeep Compass, but Stellantis moved planned production of the SUV to the U.S. shortly after Mr. Trump announced tariffs on Canadian-made cars last year.
The plant’s future is a priority in the talks, Unifor said.
Without elaborating, Ms. Payne said Stellantis once told the union the plant might return to production by 2028 or 2029 as it introduces 11 new models. But in August, she said, the company told Unifor it planned to begin talks with a third party about a possible sale of the factory.
The federal government in April rejected a proposal by Stellantis’ Chinese partner Leapmotor to assemble kit cars at the plant. Bloomberg on Monday reported Chinese car company BYD has inquired about building buses there.
“Our focus remains on finding a sustainable manufacturing solution for Brampton Assembly,” Stellantis said in a statement on Tuesday, in response to questions about the plant.
Stellantis Canada president Trevor Longley said in a separate statement the company has invested more than $8-billion in Canada since 2022, a reflection of the long-term future of Canadian manufacturing and the company’s confidence in the country and its workforce.
“As the automotive industry continues to navigate significant economic, trade and competitive pressures, our goal is to reach an agreement that recognizes the contributions of our employees while helping ensure our Canadian operations remain competitive,” Mr. Longley said.
James Stewart, a Unifor negotiator and local president of the Windsor plant, said Stellantis workers are “anxious” about the future. The laid-off Brampton workers have been living a “nightmare” for almost three years, he said.
Stellantis weighs selling idled plant in Brampton, Ont., union says
“Our members don’t need to speculate about the damage these tariffs are causing, not to mention the threat of new tariffs,” Mr. Stewart said. “Our members in all our facilities are living it first-hand. They are concerned about what the future holds for their jobs, for their workplaces and for their families.”
On Sunday, Unifor’s GM employees ratified a deal that covers 4,600 workers at Ontario plants in Oshawa, Woodstock, St. Catharines and Ingersoll. Workers at the Ingersoll factory, which ended production last year, will receive extended jobless benefits.
In announcing the agreement, GM said it will spend an additional $144-million at its Oshawa plant to begin production of the GMC Sierra heavy-duty truck, which will be made alongside the plant’s current product, the Chevrolet Silverado HD. GM also announced a $215-million investment at its propulsion plant in St. Catharines that will make the factory the sole source for the new transmissions.
The investments mean GM has recently announced about $1.4-billion in spending on the Ontario plants, “reinforcing the important role Canadian operations will continue to play in GM’s North American manufacturing network,” the automaker said in a statement.
The Ford agreement also included new investments of US$500-million at its Essex engine factory and US$400-million at its Oakville pick-up assembly plant.
Ms. Payne said Ford and GM investments signal the automakers are looking past the current trade turmoil, protecting jobs and their abilities to produce in Canada.
“They both understand that unscrambling the integrated market, the integrated supply chains that we have in the auto industry, is just not possible. They are playing the long game, and we expect Stellantis to play the long game,” she said.