Ford wage, benefits fuel union buzz at Honda, Toyota, says Unifor leader

Jerry Dias has his eye on Honda and Toyota now.

The president of Unifor, the union representing Detroit Three autoworkers in Canada, said contract talks with Ford Motor Co. went so well that nonunion workers have begun making inquiries, wondering if the time has come to join.

The Ford deal announced Sept. 28 included a $1.5 billion (U.S.) investment to bring battery-electric vehicle production to Oakville Assembly near Toronto and a new engine derivative to Windsor. The agreement was a massive negotiation among government, company and union officials. And the wages set a pattern for the other automaker contracts.

“It showed how things should work, with the federal government and Ford Motor Co. and the union all in the room — how you create jobs,” Dias told the Free Press.

An attempt by the Free Press to contact Toyota workers on Saturday was unsuccessful. ​Unifor said, based on experience, workers involved in organizing do not speak to the media for fear of reprisals at work.

Unifor National President Jerry Dias is greeted at the Renaissance Center in Detroit on Dec. 20, 2018. He was to meet with General Motors executives about the future of the Oshawa assembly plant in Canada.

Unifor, which represents 315,000 members mostly in telecommunications and health care, publicly prides itself on developing a collaborative relationship among parties that have sparred in the past. Now they’re working together to build on the business plan that creates job security for factory workers and a long-term automotive strategy for Canada.

“In Canada, government is saying to the automakers, ‘Look, we’re in. We understand where the future is heading and we’re going to play a role,’ ” Dias said.

The 2019 Lincoln Nautilus is built at the Oakville Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Ford Motor Co., which sells more than any other automaker in Canada, negotiated a massive investment deal with Canadian government officials

China and Europe are highly competitive in the area of battery-electric vehicles, widely considered to be the future of the industry, Dias noted. And Canada made clear it’s planning to fight for market share.

“Auto companies have been disinvesting in Canada for quite a while during a time of incredible growth over the last decade. Our footprint has shrunk,” Dias said. 

Unifor National President Jerry Dias arrives at the Renaissance Center in Detroit on Thursday, Dec., 20, 2018, to meet with General Motors executives about the future of the Oshawa assembly plant in Canada.

Now fortunes have reversed.

“With the deal we signed with Ford, our organizing has increased significantly at Honda and Toyota,” Dias said. “The economics are significant. We get in signing bonuses, production bonuses, wage increases, benefit changes, and we’re working with the government. … Honda and Toyota workers are seeing we’re not just in the middle of it, but we’ve led it.”

Unifor has passed out leaflets and flyers to Toyota workers, sharing details of the Ford deal, in addition to e-blasting Toyota workers whose addresses have been provided to Unifor by union organizers inside Toyota. Unifor declined to provide details on the Honda campaign.

Detroit Three model

Until now, he said, the nonunion automakers have matched union wages to depress interest in collective bargaining. Efforts to organize foreign automakers in the U.S. have failed with the Detroit-based UAW, too.

But the paradigm has shifted, even during a pandemic, Dias said. 

“People were saying, ‘Why would they even proceed into contract negotiations during a pandemic?’ That was a question that was being asked,” he said. “People were shocked at the outcome.”

2019 Ford Edge Titanium

At Honda and Toyota, which employ approximately 4,200 and 8,500 workers, respectively, in Canada, certain conditions make them open to unionization, Dias said. He pointed to the use of long-term temporary workers, for example.

“There’s no really clear path to full-time status if you’re working full-time hours,” he said. “Then there are the senior people who have chosen to stay nonunion. They’re saying now, in essence, ‘We’ve proven our loyalty to you, now it’s time for you to reciprocate.’ “

Neither Honda nor Toyota seem concerned about union activity.

“Apart from a handful of Unifor members handing out pamphlets outside our plants for a few hours last week, we’ve seen no increase in Unifor activity as it relates to our team members,” Michael Bouliane, manager of corporate communications for Toyota in Canada, told the Free Press last Tuesday.

Honda has ‘rejected’ union

While Honda of Canada respects worker decisions, a union just isn’t needed, said spokeswoman Alana Taylor.

More:Ford sweetens deal for autoworkers in Canada, Unifor ratifies contract

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More:Autoworkers refuse to fight over scraps during wage talks in Canada, union leader warns

Honda has “demonstrated an outstanding track record of success based on fundamental principles of teamwork, mutual respect and open communication,” Taylor said. “This team-oriented approach has produced world-class products of the highest quality for our customers and unprecedented job security for our associates and their families.”

The issue of union representation is “ultimately” one for workers to decide, she said, and for three decades they “have consistently rejected union outreach efforts. We agree with our associates that there is no need for outside involvement to help us continue the approach that has proved successful.”  

Honda thinks sedans like the 2019 Civic help it appeal to growing demographic groups like Hispanics and Asians.

But Dias challenges the premise that a union can’t be helpful when it just showed the world that it played a key role in developing a public-private partnership. And he feels Unifor could help the other companies and their workers, too.

Toyota runs plants in Cambridge, Ontario, and Woodstock, Ontario, that build the Toyota RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus RX and Lexus RX Hybrid. In 2022, Toyota will begin building the Lexus NX and Lexus NX Hybrid in Canada.