Canadian union Unifor names GM its second bargaining target among Detroit Three

(Reuters) -Canadian union Unifor announced General Motors (NYSE:) as its second bargaining target in contract talks with the Detroit Three on Monday, a day after ratifying a new three-year contract with Ford Motor (NYSE:).

Unifor had set Ford as the first target for a pattern agreement in its contract discussions with the Detroit Three in Canada. On Sunday, the union voted in favor of a new contract with Ford that offers wage increases of up to 25% to about 5,600 workers at its Canadian facilities.

“Bargaining committees will now work to negotiate the pattern setting agreement ratified by members at Ford of Canada in addition to GM specific issues in this second round of talks,” Unifor said in a statement.

Talks with GM are set to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 26, the union said.

Meanwhile, in the United States, negotiators for the United Auto Workers and Ford continued bargaining, with “significant gaps to close on the key economic issues”, the automaker said in a statement late on Sunday.

While the UAW has not selected a formal bargaining target, Ford became the de facto lead company as of last Friday, when the union said enough progress had been made at Ford that it would not order further walkouts at the company.

The UAW launched strikes at 38 GM and Stellantis (NYSE:) parts distribution operations in 20 U.S. states on Friday. Those walkouts threaten to choke off supplies of repair parts to dealers and customers.

The Canadian operations of the Detroit Three are much smaller than their U.S. setups, but the three automakers each has critical factories in Canada.