General Motors, Union Strike Tentative Deal at Striking Equinox Plant

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

After a month-long strike and a war of words that erupted earlier this week, General Motors and the union representing workers at its CAMI assembly plant have struck a tentative deal.

Late Friday, Unifor Local 88 posted a statement claiming a breakthrough in bargaining talks that reached an impasse on September 17th. That means Chevrolet Equinox crossovers could restart production at the Ingersoll, Ontario facility on Monday — easing dealer fears over a shortage of the hot-selling vehicle.

Unifor won’t release details of the tentative agreement until a ratification meeting, which CBC News claims is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday morning in London, Ontario. If the roughly 2,500 members give the agreement a thumbs-up, production resumes at 11 p.m.

On October 1st, GM reported a 41-day supply of Equinox crossovers. While production at two Mexican plants supplements Equinox supply, the lion’s share of volume rolls out of Ingersoll, and Unifor wants to keep it that way.

Earlier this year, the CAMI plant lost the GMC Terrain, now assembled in Mexico. Rather than wages and benefits, this round of bargaining talks centered around product and the continued production of the plant’s sole model. Unifor wants assurances that CAMI will remain the primary assembly location for the Equinox line. A second model, for which the plant has the capacity, would ensure CAMI’s continue operations, Unifor claims.

It isn’t known whether the latter request was granted, but Unifor’s national leadership wouldn’t green-light a deal without having secured the main bargaining point.

Should workers drop the picket signs and pick up tools again, workers will also return to the heavily impacted GM transmission plant in St. Catharines, Ontario. The strike also reduced output at two engine plants in Michigan and Tennessee.

Through the end of September, U.S. Equinox sales are more than 22 percent higher, year-to-date, than the same period in 2016.

[Image: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Mikey Mikey on Oct 14, 2017

    @xtoyota...The individual assembler has minimal impact on final build quality...

    • See 1 previous
    • TomLU86 TomLU86 on Oct 16, 2017

      The whole process must be firing on ALL cylinders. Design, part quality, tools, manufacturing process must all be good AND the assembler must 'close the deal'. When he or she makes an error, today there is a very high likelihood it will never leave the factory. It will get repaired. But here is the thing: if it's assembled correctly the first time, it is MOST likely to provide the customer good, long service. As with your friendly car dealer, every 'repair' at the factory is an opportunity to screw up, or undo, 2,3,4, 5, or 10 other things, depending on how 'buried' the defect is. Ditto faulty parts--if it's buried and has to be replaced, the repair process has just undone the original processes that your friendly car maker spent millions on to get just right. So the assembler really is kind of important....

  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Oct 14, 2017

    The weather's turned cooler in Ontario. Christmas is coming. UNIFOR needs to keep it's dues incoming. No more strike pay outgoing. Usual self-congratulatory B.S. in the meeting halls.

  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
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