The future of Stellantis workers in Brampton and Windsor remains uncertain following a meeting among the automaker, union leaders and government officials. The 90-minute meeting took place Thursday, days after Stellantis confirmed it was selling the idled Brampton Assembly Plant to Canadian armoured vehicle manufacturer Roshel, ending plans to retool the facility for production of the next-generation Jeep Compass. Following the meeting, federal Industry Minister Melanie Joly said Stellantis has been given 30 days to address what Ottawa considers a breach of its 2022 funding agreement. If the company fails to do so, the federal government could pursue legal action to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding. The agreement included up to $529 million from the federal government and $513 million from Ontario to support retooling efforts at the Brampton and Windsor assembly plants. Unifor National President Lana Payne said little changed during Thursday’s discussions, adding that Stellantis is continuing with the sale of the Brampton facility. James Stewart, president of Unifor Local 444 and the union’s Stellantis master bargaining chairperson, said concerns about the future of the Windsor Assembly Plant also featured prominently in the discussions. “I’m not there to inspire fear, but I can certainly say that we have a lot of work to do, even outside of the Brampton issue,” Stewart said. “We’ve always said Brampton is the biggest issue because of the closure of the plant, but it’s not the only issue. We have a lot of work to do to protect the footprint in Canada.” Stewart said the Windsor operation remains a significant concern following weeks of production shutdowns. “When you’re talking about Windsor Assembly Plant, you’re over 6,000 members that have worked two weeks of the last nine weeks,” he said. “Before that, they hadn’t worked a Friday in a long time. So when we’re tentative about a strike, that’s real. It’s a last resort. It’s a tool we needed to have the difficult conversations we’re having. But our intent is to bargain an agreement.” During a news conference Thursday, Payne said opportunities existed to prevent the sale of the Brampton plant. “The message was clear. We have a sale of a plant and everybody in the country says they didn’t want to have a sale of a plant, and yet here we are,” Payne said. “Why could not something have been done last week, or the week before, or the week before that to stop this from happening as our union was requesting?” Payne called the outcome disappointing and said responsibility extends beyond the automaker. “I believe Roshel has played a role in this as well,” she said. “They made this grand offer to Stellantis while we were at the bargaining table. This is interference in what it is that we needed to do and to achieve for our members.” Stewart said another meeting involving both levels of government is being arranged, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford expected to participate. The union is also seeking a meeting with Stellantis chief executive officer Antonio Filosa. Unifor says significant work remains to protect thousands of Stellantis jobs in Ontario, including those at the Windsor Assembly Plant.
