Five things to know about the FCA, Unifor tentative deal

Unifor is edging closer to wrapping up its latest round of contract negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers.

It haswrapped up negotiations with General Motors and struck a tentative deal with Fiat Chrysler late Monday.

More information is coming out on the deal. Opinions range from high praise from union leaders and some analysts, to deep criticism from some union members.

Here are five takeaways from the tentative FCA and Unifor deal.

Investment in Canadian operations

Throughout this negotiating cycle, Unifor leaders have been clear on one point Detroit Three automakers must invest in Canada. The deal with FCA promises just that.

According to Unifor national president Jerry Dias, the deal includes $325 million in investment in FCA'sBrampton, Ont. assembly plant and a pledge to upgrade its old paint shop.

This follows nearly $3 billion spent in retooling the Windsor Assembly Plant in 2015 to build the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

Lump sum payments, but no changes to pay grid

Most workers at FCA are set to receive signing bonuses of $6,000 and lump sum bonuses of $2,000 per year over the next three years.

But newly hired workers will still need to wait 10 years before they reach the top of the pay grid, something union members have criticized.

There is also a move away from the defined-benefit pension plan, meaning workers will have to contribute a portion of their pay to their pension.

A hybrid for Windsor Assembly Plant

Heading into the Oct. 10 strike deadline, Dino Chiodo expressed concern about new product coming for Windsor Assembly. The tentative deal includes guarantees the plug-in hybrid version of the Pacifica will be built in Windsor.

That Pacifica was promised to roll off assembly lines later this year when the minivan was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January.

Opinion split on the deal

Chiodo called the tentative agreement "probably the best economic deal I've seen in any of the Chrysler agreements that I've ever participated in" when he spoke with Windsor Morning Tuesday.

But some workers have criticized the deal.

"My vote is going to be a big fat no," 4th-generation Chrysler worker Randy Desjardins told CBC News. "Same wages for the same work with the same benefits, same pension. Why does the new hire moving forward have to give up their defined-benefit pension plan?"

What happens next?

The ratification vote is scheduled for Oct. 16. Windsor workers will get their say on the agreement. If they accept the deal, Unifor will move on to negotiations withFord Motor Co., the last of the Detroit Three automakers.

Workers at GM voted 64.7 per cent to ratify a similar deal struck last month.

If the deal is rejected, workers will be on strike while the union and automaker hammer out a new deal.