An overwhelming mandate — that’s what the national president of Unifor calls the result of a weekend strike vote by more than 9,000 Stellantis workers in Canada.
President Lana Payne says members have voted better than 97 per cent in favour of job action to back demands in a new contract.
The two sides have been at an impasse since September 11.
Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart, who is also the Unifor Stellantis Master Bargaining Chairperson, tells AM800 News the union believes there is a path to a fair collective agreement.
He says Windsor had a great meeting on Saturday.
“Our members showed up,” he says. “They’re invested in what’s going on. They want to hear the message from me straight from my mouth rather than through the messaging we’ve been putting out, communication we’ve been putting out. We had that meeting; they understood it; they clearly understand what’s happening in our industry and what’s happening with Stellantis, and they gave us the mandate to go back and negotiate an agreement. That’s what we want to do.”
Stewart says workers are concerned.
“It was good to hear from our members; it’s good to understand what they’re thinking,” says Stewart. “It’s good for us to be in touch with them and understand what their concerns are. That allows us and affords us the temperature of the members so we know what we’re doing at the table.”
He says a strike action is “always a last resort”.
“This isn’t saying we’re going out on strike; this is saying to Stellantis, our members are unified in wanting a resolve that protects our Canadian operations, gives us the pattern and protects the footprints, including Windsor, Etobicoke and Brampton,” he says.
The union is not in a legal strike position, as neither Stellantis nor Unifor have requested a “no board” report.
The future of the third shift in Windsor and the idled Brampton Assembly Plant remain key issues.
There are 6,400 workers at the Windsor Assembly Plant, which assembles the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager, and Grand Caravan minivan, along with the Dodge Charger.