Human blockade: Tensions flare at Unifor rally in Windsor

Unifor National was in Windsor on Wednesday, holding a rally in support of locked out Titan Tool workers. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske was on scene.

Company officials blocked Unifor members from leaving a rally on Wednesday.

Unifor’s national office organized a rally at the Titan Tool Die Howard Avenue factory for Wednesday, in solidarity with 25 members who have been locked out since Aug. 11.

“We, for 12 years, haven’t had a raise, haven’t seen a raise. We’ve frozen our COLA (cost of living allowance). We’ve helped them tremendously throughout these last 12 years,” Titan worker and union rep Randy St. Pierre told CTV News.

“All we’re asking for is just a little bit more money, with the way inflation has gone up.”

St. Pierre and other union leaders say Titan is asking for 15 pages of concessions to ratify a new collective agreement.

Titan officials did not return multiple emails or phone calls made by CTV News in the last day.

The union maintains equipment was quietly shipped over to Michigan and all materials have been removed from the factory.

Local 195 President Emile Nabbout says as far as they’re concerned, they want to negotiate a new contract. Not a closing agreement.

“I’d like to negotiate my job back. That’s what we all want to do,” St. Pierre said.

“But ultimately, it’s the decision of the company. Do they want to stay in business? Or do they want to close?”

“We can’t have companies in Canada shifting production across the border. We have to send a message, and we’re doing that here today,” National President Lana Payne said Wednesday.

The union hosted an hour-long rally, which appeared to be attended by all 25 Titan workers who have been locked out.

After the rally, Unifor asked its supporters to walk up Charles Street towards Futura Tool and Die, a company they say is also owned by Titan.

Futura is not a unionized factory, according to several Unifor leaders.

As the rally died down and supporters – many of them unaffected by the Titan lock-out – tried to leave, four employees of Futura stood in front of the union members vehicles, preventing them from leaving.

“It helped our cause,” Nabbout told CTV News late Wednesday.

“They thought they were trying to blockade our members from leaving the area, so they are a party to the blockade.”

Nabbout believes the company officials wanted to inconvenience Unifor enough so the members would let their transports leave the Futura plant.

“Not on our watch,” Nabbout said.

After an hour, the four employees abruptly stepped aside from the member vehicles and walked into the Futura plant.

There, Unifor members, set up another blockade, preventing two transports from leaving the Futura plant.

As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Unifor members are blocking the Futura exits, the two transport trucks are shut off, while the drivers are sitting waiting leave.

Nabbout said they would let the transports leave if they show the union the trucks are empty.

When asked if it was unusual or even allowed for Unifor to block a factory where they don’t represent the workforce, Nabbout adamantly said “we have to do it.”

“Any greedy employer who is going to take our community, our tax dollars for granted, we’re willing to do whatever it takes to stop them, to send a message across the board, you want to sell here, you have to build here,” Nabbout said.

He told CTV News they will maintain the Futura blockade “as long as we have to.”