Unifor Reiterates Labor Demands to End CAMI Strike in Canada

Canadian labor union Unifor says it has resubmitted its proposal to General Motors Co. on Sunday to end a strike at the carmaker’s CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont. The walkout began on Sept. 17.

Dan Borthwick, who heads the Unifor local that represents some 2,800 hourly workers at the CAMI facility, tells Automotive News Canada the union’s demands are unchanged: provide greater job security, mainly by designating CAMI the lead producer for GM’s popular Chevrolet Equinox SUV/crossover vehicle.

Unifor worries that GM could shift a greater proportion of Equinox manufacturing to Mexico. The company began in April to assemble the vehicle at Mexican factories in Ramos Arizpe and San Luis Potosi. Last spring GM also reassigned production of the GMC Terrain SUV, a variant of the Equinox, from CAMI to Mexico.

CAMI currently produces roughly twice as many Equinox models per month as are made in Mexico.

Unifor President Jerry Dias has emphasized that the union won’t accept any contract proposal from GM unless CAMI is named top producer for the Equinox. Borthwick tells ANC that Sunday’s proposal underscores that determination.