Unifor's pattern agreement
Unifor members' successfully ratified the most significant wage package in the history of CAW and Unifor bargaining. Unifor members secured improvements to all pension plans and income security measures to protect members throughout the EV transition. Unifor now sets out to pattern this negotiated settlement with Stellantis.
Wages
Pensions
Fact:
Current Defined Contribution (DC) Plan members and all new hires will transition to a new Defined Benefit-style pension plan on January 1, 2025. Additional benefits of the new plan include joint survivor benefits, early retirement option, and conditional indexing. CAAT DBplus is not-for-profit so all funds generated by the plan are for plan members and plan members ONLY.
Fact:
Company pension contributions for current Defined Contribution (DC) plan members will rise from 4% to 7% increasing from $3,106 to $6,172 for production workers at top-rate in the first year of the three-year agreement. This means the company will contribute almost $10,000 more to each worker’s pension over the life of the contract (based on 2,080 hours).
Retirees
Fact:
Special attention was paid in bargaining to make improvements to the income and benefits our retired members are eligible for. Retired employees in the Legacy DB plan and the Hybrid plan who retired prior to October 2, 2023 will now receive the Universal Health Care Allowance, a new quarterly payment unique to Canadian retirees. Quarterly payments begin in Q4 2023 and continue over life of agreement. Members who retired prior to October 1, 2008 will receive $200 per quarter. Members who retired on or after October 1, 2008 and up to and prior to October 1, 2016 will receive $150 per quarter. Members who retired on or after October 1, 2016 and up to and including October 1, 2023 will receive $125 per quarter. The health care deductible for all retirees and surviving spouses is eliminated. Improvement to multiple health care benefits to aid retirees.
EV Transition
Fact:
SUB benefit rate increased from 65% to 70% for all Unifor members with one year of seniority at all workplaces. During the retooling period, employees with at least one year seniority who exhaust SUB credits during retooling period eligible for Income Maintenance Benefit. EI repayments reimbursed by the company should annual net employment income exceed the annual maximum income threshold as outlined by the Government of Canada. Company contributions to the DC pension plan or CAAT DBplus plan will continue during retooling. Vacation for 2025/2026 prorated based on available months of production in 2024/2025.
Benefits and Paid Holidays
Priorities met. Pattern set.