CAMI union members ratify collective agreement with GM

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Unifor members at the CAMI Assembly and Battery Assembly plants in Ingersoll have ratified a new collective agreement with General Motors. The new deal contains pay increases and adds the facility to Unifor's Detroit Three pattern.

"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.

Unifor Local 88 spokesperson, Mike Van Boekel said he and his members are pleased with the end result.

“It is a very good deal and answered a lot of the issues we had. We received economic gains which is good because it's been a tough ride for our members and a tough ride for everybody the way prices have gone up the last few years.”

The new CAMI contract compresses three years of wage gains into two, providing 15 per cent for production workers and 20.25 per cent for skilled trades. Workers will receive an immediate 10% pay increase with a 2% increase in Sept. 2025 and an additional 3% increase in July 2026.

Unifor members at the CAMI Assembly and Battery Assembly plants in Ingersoll have ratified a new collective agreement with General Motors. The new deal contains pay increases and adds the facility to Unifor's Detroit Three pattern.

"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.

Unifor Local 88 spokesperson, Mike Van Boekel said he and his members are pleased with the end result.

“It is a very good deal and answered a lot of the issues we had. We received economic gains which is good because it's been a tough ride for our members and a tough ride for everybody the way prices have gone up the last few years.”

The new CAMI contract compresses three years of wage gains into two, providing 15 per cent for production workers and 20.25 per cent for skilled trades. Workers will receive an immediate 10% pay increase with a 2% increase in Sept. 2025 and an additional 3% increase in July 2026. By the time the contract expires, production workers will top out at $44.52 per hour and trades at $55.97.

"CAMI workers have been trailblazers in the EV transition and our bargaining committee was determined to bring home the wage increases, pension improvements and income replacement measures to protect them during this evolution and position them for the future," added Van Boekel.

Unifor Local 88 members voted 95.7 per cent in favour to ratify the new two-year agreement, which will expire on September 20, 2026. Those in the trades voted just over 80 per cent in favour.

“Trades are tough to maintain right now because everyone is paying so much. Hopefully, this contract will guarantee they aren’t going to leave anymore,” explained Van Boekel.

Other highlights of the deal include a $10,000 signing bonus for full-time employees, improvements to pension plans and improved safety provisions. Van Boekel added sitting at the bargaining table with the big three has its advantages.

“We get a lot more say at the table instead of just having to follow a pattern. We will hopefully have a seat at the head table to try and determine what the pattern is going to be, get in front of it.”

Another win for the union is the elimination of waiting for a cheque following a layoff.

“Every time there is a layoff our members have a one-week waiting period so that will be paid from now on. That’s really big because it’s been happening so often to our members. We are also supposed to hit two shifts again in January. That’s going to be the biggest thing because everybody finally gets back to work,” he added.

Many contract negotiations in either the private or public sector can be contentious at times which can lead to lockouts and strikes. Van Boekel praised GM throughout the bargaining process and continued to do so once the deal was signed.

“They seemed happy too at the end. They answered the call and they knew we had a lot of tough years. Hopefully, we are close to getting out of it. I’ll be honest. They answered the call on a lot of our tougher issues. The money was there which is always one of the main driving forces.”

He added the union will continue to be active and do good things for the people of Ingersoll and area.

“We have a great social justice program going and they want is to do that again. They agreed to give us $100,000 a year and we can spend it wherever we like in the community. Our members have learned that even though we have gone through tough times, there are some people out there who have it a lot tougher.”

Van Boekel said Unifor has supported organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters Oxford and donated to area food banks during the Christmas season.

Unifor Local 88 represents more than 1,300 members at CAMI Assembly and Battery Assembly who manufacture the Chevrolet BrightDrop EV 600 and EV 400 and Ultium battery modules.

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