Unifor Fails to Reach Accord with Bizjet Manufacturer

Bombardier is in a bit of a tizzy with Canadian union Unifor, with 1,350 of the members about to strike following failed negotiations.

The manufacturer had been in negotiations with a hard deadline of June 22nd, but absent an actual agreement with Unifor, the trade union is now preparing a strike. The company said it continued negotiations all through the night until the absolute last minute, with the intent to start Monday morning right where they left off. It wouldn't be the first time Bombardier's business jet line has seen a strike from Unifor, with a 2021 strike in recent memory. That one resulted in a 3-year agreement for wage increases and improved pension benefits for workers.

This time around, Unifor Local 112 and 673 members will strike. Unifor is a bit of an odd duck compared to the rest of the aviation industry, being a general-use union with 315,000 workers across a spectrum of businesses in Canada. A quick glance at some of their members shows that they've got radio stations, distilleries, insurance companies, banks, taxis, and hotels under the Unifor umbrella. Now, with the Bombardier site on strike, the firm's spiffy new factory will sit idle until they can reach an agreement, putting current Global jet manufacturing on hold.

Oddly enough, neither party really had much to say throughout the Monday following the strike notice. THe weekend came and went, with deadlines invoked, but aside from some platitudes about working together to find common ground, nothing new really hit the wire. Since the Bombardier factory at Toronto Pearson International Airport is hardly two months in the swing of things since opening, it may be a nice breather to have a strike and correct any issues that have been found since operating full time. The Pearson location is their primary work site, and moving in was a long process of monkey-branching away from Bombardier's Ontario facility. That's all conjecture though, and aside from a relatively placid public response to a strike there isn't much reason to believe Bombardier isn't pulling their hair out over the halt in production. In time, a new deal should be hammered out and publicized for those outside the family, once again moving those Global jet customers closer to their eagerly awaited delivery dates.

FMI: www.unifor.org