2023-09-24 17:03:52
The strike in the auto sector was averted across the country on Sunday, but it continues in the United States and is even expected to take on a very political dimension this week with the expected visits of President Joe Biden and the former president Donald Trump, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Members of the Unifor union, which represents employees of automobile factories in Canada, approved a three-year agreement with American manufacturer Ford on Sunday, thus averting the risk of a walkout.
“Congratulations. The votes have been counted and Unifor members at Ford in Canada have ratified a three-year agreement that will bring huge gains for auto workers,” the union said on X, formerly Twitter.
Salaries are to be increased by 15% over three years, including a 10% increase in the first year. The deal also includes other benefits and bonuses, including cost-of-living adjustments and better pensions.
It concerns more than 5,600 Ford employees in Canada, and should serve as a reference for those of Stellantis and General Motors as is traditionally the case. The three American giants, nicknamed the “Big Three”, employ some 18,000 Unifor members.
In the United States, the first strike affecting all three manufacturers at the same time entered its second week on Friday, and hardened at General Motors and Stellantis.
Some 38 spare parts distribution centers from these two groups are now affected.
The reason, according to the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, is the lack of progress in union negotiations, while “real progress” has been made at Ford.
The UAW is demanding in particular a salary increase of 40% over four years, corresponding to that which the leaders of the groups have benefited from over the last four years.
Invited to come on a picket line, Joe Biden, who readily describes himself as the leading supporter of American unions, is due to come to Michigan on Tuesday, as a sign of “solidarity”.
The 80-year-old Democrat has already, several times, publicly estimated that manufacturers should pass on their “record profits” to employees.
The president had until now planned to devote next week to a trip to the West, but he finally decided to scold his great rival Donald Trump, who also wants to be the champion of workers and working-class circles.
The former Republican president, favorite in his party’s primary for the 2024 presidential election, announced his visit on a picket line on Wednesday, also in Michigan, a key electoral state.
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