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Unifor is celebrating the significant pension gains the union has fought for in the last three years as we head into Constitutional Convention in August at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Since 2023, Unifor has negotiated improvements to Defined Benefit (DB) plans across the country at high-profile companies, including Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Bombardier, MDA and PepsiCo, as well as Windsor Tunnel Corporation, GreenShield, Amsted Rail and Kautex Textron among others.
“We are at a point in time where the conditions for bargaining DB plans have improved, with so many DB plans being in surplus positions,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
“Unifor is taking full advantage of this opportunity by bargaining improvements to legacy DB pension plans in the private sector. Our members are sending a clear message to their employers – improvements to legacy DB are on the table once again.”
A Defined Benefit Pension Plan is a pension designed to provide a predictable amount of income at retirement. These plans have become less common in the private sector, but there are still over 1,000 private sector DB plans across Canada, with hundreds of thousands of members.
“Bargaining committees are rightfully pushing back on the idea that ‘DB pensions are dead’ in the private sector,” said Payne.
“Plain and simple, we need to acknowledge this is far from the truth and continue to put pressure on companies to improve them.”
Unifor is also improving other plans, like Defined Contribution (DC) Plans and Group Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) across the union and introducing pensions at workplaces that previously did not have a plan.
“Regardless of the pension plan type, efforts are being made to improve pensions in bargaining,” said Payne. “There is still a lot of work to be done to achieve retirement security for all Unifor members and for all Canadians.”
Payne added that effective Jan. 1, 2026, Unifor will be granted a board position on the College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) Pension Plan and that Unifor is pleased to have a seat at the table at a pension plan that has become so important to the membership. Unifor members participating in CAAT will receive a DB-type benefit, which has become increasingly rare in the private sector.
“I’m immensely proud of the hard-fought pension gains we’ve bargained since our last convention, and we will continue to lead the fight to improve pension plans for all workers,” she said.
