'Two shifts, full-time by January': CAMI employees ratify new contract

Wage increases, new paid holidays and a big signing bonus are part of the new contract for CAMI employees in Ingersoll, Ont.

Approximately 900 workers were at Centennial Hall in London, Ont. on Sunday, voting in favour of their new two-year agreement, which will expire on Sept. 20, 2026.

96 per cent of production workers voted in favour while 81 per cent of those in trades voted to ratify the deal.

“It's been a very big day today,” said Mike Van Boekel, CAMI plant chair.

“We've been at the hotel (bargaining) for the last couple of weeks and today we rolled out a tentative agreement and our members voted overwhelmingly to approve our new contract.”

CAMI employees have been on a rotating shift for three years and this will get them back to two full shifts in the new year.

A CAMI employee puts a ballot in the box ratifying the new two-year contract on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)

“Hopefully it sets the road for some job stability going forward,” said Van Boekel.

“It includes major wage increases for everybody. Also, a large signing bonus ($10,000), pension improvements and new paid holidays like Family Day and Truth and Reconciliation Day. It's just a very good contract for our members.”

Many employees have had trouble feeding their families and have had to really budget their spending only working two out of every four weeks per month.

“There's a lot of our membership that has been two weeks on, two weeks off for quite a long time,” said Allan Fisher, who works in the factory’s battery plant.

CAMI employee, Allan Fisher, is excited about the new two-year contract, which will bring his colleagues back to work full time in 2025. (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London)

“Since COVID started, we were on and off and then we hit battery shortages and other types of parts shortages. They (bargaining committee) are saying we will be back to two full shifts full-time, so it's a good thing.”

Some employees estimate that the maximum amount of time many people have been at work over the past few years is about 11 weeks in a calendar year.

The bargaining team calls Sunday a “good day”.

“We think this contract is fair,” said Van Boekel.

“We've been through some tough times. This answered the call on a lot of the programs that we wanted.”

In a statement, Kristian Aquilina, GM Canada's president and managing director said:

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.

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.