The head of the union representing workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant still believes a deal with Stellantis is “achievable” as workers prepare to take a strike vote. Unifor, which represents more than 9,000 Stellantis workers in Canada, has announced plans to hold strike authorization votes October 17-18 as contract talks with the automaker remain stalled. Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart says they are still communicating and there is a lot going on behind the scenes to break the impasse. “This is a normal part of bargaining; it shouldn’t surprise anybody. We’ve been heading this way for the past couple of weeks. We need to make sure that the company understands that the members are serious about achieving what they deserve in this round of bargaining, just like Ford and General Motors. That’s what this whole strike authorization vote is about,” he says. The vote results will be announced on October 19. Unifor Local 444 represents over 6,400 workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant, which assembles the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager, and Grand Caravan minivan, along with the Dodge Charger. Contract negotiations between the union and the automaker opened September 1, but talks stalled September 11 following 10 days of negotiations, with the key issue being around commitments from the automaker and the future of the idled Brampton Assembly Plant, which Stellantis wants to sell to Canadian armoured vehicle maker Roshel. Stewart says they need to maintain the commitments on the third shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant. “If we don’t fight for Brampton, if we don’t fight for a commitment they made to Brampton, then it sends a message to Stellantis that they can walk away from any agreement they make because no one is going to fight for it. We can’t allow that to happen,” he says. Stewart says this is also about making sure that a commitment made to people in Windsor is kept. “Making sure we keep the footprint of the third shift in Windsor, making sure that happens. Making sure we get the pattern. Right now anything they talk about comes with conditions. We need to get by all of that so that our members recognize when a commitment is made by Stellantis, they’re going to live up to it,” he says. A strike authorization vote would give the bargaining committee the authority to call a strike, if necessary, but it does not automatically mean a strike will take place. The current collective agreement expired September 20. The company previously reached deals with Ford and General Motors.
