The future of Stellantis workers in Brampton and Windsor remains uncertain following a meeting between the automaker, union leaders, and government officials.
A 90-minute meeting was held Thursday afternoon, which came after Stellantis confirmed earlier this week that they were 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 stated that Stellantis has been given 30 days to address what the government considers a breach of its 2022 funding agreement, and if they don’t Ottawa could pursue legal action to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money.
The agreement included up to $529-million in federal funding, along with $513-million from the Ontario government, to help retool the plants in Brampton and Windsor.
Following comments from Joly, Unifor National President Lana Payne says there hasn’t been much change following the meeting, and the company is still moving ahead with the sale of the Brampton plant.
James Stewart, Unifor Local 444 President & Unifor Stellantis Master Bargaining Chairperson, says discussion also focused heavily on the future of the Windsor Assembly Plant.
“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. We’ve always said Brampton is the biggest issue because 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 says the situation in Windsor is also a major concern following weeks of production shutdowns.
He says the union hopes to get back to the bargaining table soon, and that a potential strike is a last resort.
“When you’re talking about Windsor Assembly Plant, you’re over 6,000 members that have worked two weeks of the last nine weeks. Before that, 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 the press conference Thursday afternoon, Payne said there were opportunities to stop this sale, and that didn’t happen.
“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, the plant has been sold. 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 said it’s disappointing.
“Lots of people are to blame for it, including Stellantis by the way because they made the decision. And I would also throw in this... I believe Roshel has played a role in this as well. 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 says another meeting involving both levels of government is also being arranged, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford wanting to be part of those discussions. They will also request a meeting with the automaker’s global CEO Antonio Filosa.
Unifor says there’s still plenty of work ahead to protect thousands of Stellantis jobs in Ontario, including in Windsor.
In a statement provided by Trevor Longley, CEO of Stellantis Canada, he says that the discussions were an important opportunity to address the future of Brampton Assembly and its employees.
He adds that while they recognize there is disappointment, the decision to sell the plant provides a path to return the facility to productive industrial use, creates new jobs, and secures a long-term future for the site.
It adds that they will voluntarily return the $24-million in federal government support they received to retool the Brampton facility.