Electric commercial van production coming to CAMI Assembly if GM deal ratified

Canada NewsWire

INGERSOLL, ON,Jan. 15, 2021/CNW/ – Unifor Local 88’s bargaining committee, representing 1,900 workers at the CAMI Assembly Plant inIngersoll, Ontariohas reached a tentative agreement with General Motors today.

Unifor Local 88 CAMI Bargaining Committee (CNW Group/Unifor)

“This tentative deal delivers significant investment, new products, new jobs, and job security, achieving our union’s key bargaining priorities during these challenging times,” saidJerry Dias, Unifor National President.

General Motors has agreed to invest $1 billion dollars to begin large-scale commercial production of EV600, an all electric van, starting next year.

More details of the tentative agreement will be presented to Local 88 members at an online ratification meeting scheduled for Sunday, January 17. Results of the ratification vote are scheduled to be released Monday, January 18.

This contract, if ratified, will bring the total investment negotiated by Unifor to nearly $6 billion dollars after new agreements were ratified with General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler in 2020 that included support from the federal and Ontario governments. The Ford deal reached in September included $1.95 billion to bring battery electric vehicle production to Oakville and a new engine derivative to Windsor and the Fiat Chrysler agreement included more than $1.5 billion for a state-of-the-art platform to build both Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles and Battery Electric Vehicles. In November, General Motors agreed to a $1.3 billion dollar investment to bring 1,700 jobs to Oshawa plus more than $109 million to in-source new transmission work for the Corvette and support continued V8 engine production in St. Catharines.

Bargaining with General Motors in Ingersoll opened on January 4, 2021 under extraordinary circumstances and heightened public health restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Both Unifor and General Motors worked diligently to ensure full compliance with the restrictions.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

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