The workers at the CAMI assembly and battery assembly plants have ratified a two-year collective agreement with General Motors, Unifor has announced.

The two-year agreement will place the more than 1,300 Local 88 members on the same schedule to negotiate with GM as the rest of Unifor’s Detroit Three members.

“For the first time, Unifor has successfully negotiated a two-year contract term that will align CAMI members with the union’s Detroit Three negotiations to combine the future bargaining power of more than 5,600 GM members. Never again will CAMI members have to wait to play catch-up on wages and benefit improvements,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a news release.

Unifor says the new agreement compresses three years’ worth of wage gains into the two-year life of the agreement, which is resulting in a total wage increase of 15 per cent for production workers and 20.25 per cent for skilled trades workers. This includes an immediate 10 per cent raise.

Other highlights of the agreement include:

• Wage progression to top pay rate reduced from eight to four years
• Skilled trades special wage adjustments
• Reactivation of the cost of living allowance
• $10,000 productivity and quality bonus for full-time employees
• Improved income security provisions to protect workers during EV transition
• Improvements to all pension plans
• Universal health care allowance quarterly payments to retirees

Unifor says the next round of negotiations with the Detroit Three will take place in the fall of 2026.

The CAMI assembly and battery assembly plants are located in Ingersoll, Ont.

The facilities produce the Chevrolet BrightDrop EV 600 and EV 400 and Ultium battery modules.

BrightDrop

The BrightDrop electric walk-in commercial vans were recently moved to be part of the Chevrolet brand, which GM says will give customers access to one of the industry’s largest and most extensive commercial sales and service networks. Until now, the vans were managed by GM Envolve, the company’s fleet business.

BrightDrop vehicles have up to an estimated 437-kilometre range.

“We are pleased our team members at CAMI Assembly, the manufacturing home of the Chevrolet BrightDrop electric van, have ratified a new agreement that supports our employees and our business. Thank you to the entire Unifor bargaining committee and our GM Canada labour team for your leadership and collaboration,” said Kristian Aquilina, GM Canada president and managing director, in a news release following the ratification of the agreement.

“I am excited by the opportunity ahead as BrightDrop joins the Chevrolet brand, further strengthening GM’s commitment to electric mobility. Our vehicle production and battery-module assembly operation at CAMI helps position GM as a leader in Canadian EV supply chain development, manufacturing and export.”