Contract talks between Unifor and Stellantis remain at an impasse. Unifor posted a video to its social media pages Thursday evening stating there are still no formal talks scheduled, although communication with the company remains open. The biggest sticking point remains the future of Stellantis’ Brampton Assembly Plant. Unifor says Stellantis continues to maintain its position on closing and potentially selling the plant, while the union says it wants a resolution for workers there before a new contract is reached. Previous contract talks stalled on Sept. 11, and the current collective agreement expired Sunday night. Unifor National President Lana Payne says this week, she spoke with Premier Doug Ford, top officials in the Prime Minister’s office, and the Federal Industry Department. She says the closure of the Brampton plant would have serious consequences for other plants as well. “It would be devastating for our members, for the suppliers, for the entire auto industry. If Stellantis is allowed to break its commitment to our Brampton members and get away with it, this will become a major problem for thousands of Unifor members in other facilities like Windsor, Etobicoke, and our distribution centres in Mississauga and Red Deer.” Payne says they will not stop fighting for all of the Stellantis plants. “We will continue to press the company and government for an outcome that is acceptable to our members and to our union because the last thing we want, the very last thing we want, is to lose an auto plant during this trade war, reducing the number of good union auto jobs in Canada and handing a victory to Donald Trump.” Unifor Local 444 President and Stellantis Master Bargaining Committee Chair James Stewart says workers are not currently in a legal strike position. “Our collective agreement expired on September 20th, and as previously reported, Unifor, as of today, is not in a legal strike position. Unifor and Stellantis remain in conciliation - a process required under the Ontario Labour Relations Act - and that conciliation process must conclude before union members can legally go on strike or be locked out by the employer.” Stewart says the union is considering its options, but there is no strike vote scheduled at this time. “We’re assessing all of our options, including when to set a legal strike deadline if that becomes necessary. For now, the terms and conditions of our current agreement, that’s the 2023 collective agreement, remain in effect. A strike is always our last resort for our union and something we don’t take for granted. We’ll make that decision based on what’s in the best interest of our members.” Unifor represents more than 9,000 Stellantis workers across Canada, including those at the Windsor Assembly Plant. Unifor says the lines of communication with Stellantis remain open, but there are currently no formal talks scheduled. The union says it will provide an update when that changes.
