The president of Unifor Local 195 says the union is left with no other options.
Emile Nabbout says the union will present its 'bad faith bargaining' application today against Titan Tool & Die to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
He says all parties will now gather virtually for the hearing after it was originally set as an in-person hearing.
Nabbout says he's not sure how long it will take or when a decision will be made but has heard it's a fast process.
He says the union believes it has a strong case against the employer.
"The union is left with no option but to put an application in front of the labour board to charge this employer with bad faith bargaining," he says. "Today will be the hearing between the parties with the labour board."
Nabbout says the employer has made no effort to end the lockout.
"If you intend to run a business, you negotiate a contract with the union; if you intend not to run production due to whatever circumstances, you do a severance package," says Nabbout.
He believes the company doesn't intend to run the facility.
Nabbout says the company hasn't shown any initiative to respect the workers at the plant.
"This is a legal requirement under the law and it is a part of our collective agreement," says Nabbout. "I know our collective agreement expired and there is no agreement presently between us and the company; however, we believe that a closure must be done to those workers. They cannot just keep people outside and harming those families for no good reason."
Titan Tool locked out its unionized workers on August 11, 2025.
Last October, the workers rejected 15 pages of concessions from the employer, which included a wage freeze, elimination of cost-of-living language, elimination of retiree benefits, mandatory overtime, and concessions around pensions, among many others.
The union represents 60 members, with 27 active members and 33 laid-off workers at the Howard Ave. facility.