Integram workers get 15% raise, ratify new deal by very slim margin

About 1,000 workers at Magna’s Integram Windsor Seating plant voted 56 per cent in favour of a tentative deal Saturday morning, one which will boost wages by 15 per cent over the 3.5 year deal.

The deal also comes with a $5,000 productivity bonus, three annual inflation recognition payments of $1,000 apiece, increases to health and dental benefits, and two additional vacation days.

According to Unifor local 444 President Dave Cassidy, the tentative agreement focuses on job security and wage increases.

“Our collective efforts have resulted in a ground-breaking 15 per cent wage increase, capitulating us to the position of the highest-paid seat supplier in the country,” Cassidy said in a ratification pamphlet given to workers who turned out to vote Saturday at the Caboto Club.

“We didn't leave anything on the table with this group,” said Cassidy after the ratification meeting. “And then finally, we got to where we knew we squeezed everything out of Magna.”

After the ballots were counted, Cassidy said the narrow majority of workers agreed it was the best deal they were going to get.

“Those numbers aren't anything to write home about. You still have, you know, 40 per cent of your membership that is pretty disappointed. They wanted more and they see more,” said Cassidy.

Workers went on strike on Nov. 8, 2023 after a midnight strike deadline for a deal came and went. The union and Magna returned to the table and hashed out a deal by Nov. 13.

“As a tier 1 seat supplier we were able to attain the best job security language along with the biggest wage increases in our history,” wrote Dave Simone in the pamphlet. “This was done with your support.”

The deal front-loads the pay increases, with a seven per cent bump in year one of the deal. Years two and three call for a three per cent increase, with a two per cent pay bump to end the deal.

It results in roughly a $4.50 to $5 pay increase over the life of the contract for most workers.

Workers were split on the deal, with some saying they wanted more in wage increases to deal with cost-of-living challenges like interest rates, inflation, and food prices.

Some workers mentioned they wanted a stronger health benefits package.

“The ratification’s a little low, it seems you know, these days that people are expecting a lot more. I mean, we thought we brought him back a great deal,” said Cassidy after the meeting. “I think that's the new norm. When you set them expectations high, I mean, reality is your feeder plants are going to be the same.”

Integram Windsor Seating (Magna) builds seats that go into the Chrysler Pacifica, which is built at the Windsor Assembly Plant.

Union officials said Windsor Assembly Plant did not lose any vehicle productivity during the five-day strike by Integram workers.

Cassidy called the job security offered in the contract “second-to-none” because it proves Integram will remain in the foam business and secures the next platform assembly, noting the company needs to stay competitive in order to remain a tier 1 supplier to Stellantis.