The union’s national president Lana Payne said the new contract for the 5,600 Canadian auto workers employed by Ford Motor “includes the highest wage increases in the history of Canadian auto bargaining.” On Tuesday, Payne said General Motors will be the union’s next bargaining target. (The Logic)

Talking point: Payne said she does not expect negotiations with GM to be “easy” despite having the Ford-Unifor deal, which was ratified by about 54 per cent of members, as a template. The Ford contract includes “special EV transition measures” negotiated for members at the Oakville, Ont., assembly plant, as the automaker prepares to build electric vehicles there. Unifor said the agreement’s base hourly wage puts them $11 per hour, or 35 per cent, higher than their U.S. counterparts. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers union in the U.S. said Friday it was closer to a deal to end its strike with Ford, but still far from a deal with GM and Stellantis.