Trade tensions with the United States are expected to cast a shadow over contract talks between Unifor and Stellantis as the union looks to secure the future of Windsor Assembly.
Bargaining opens Tuesday in Toronto, with Local 444 President James Stewart saying the union’s priorities include matching gains achieved at Ford and General Motors, while securing long-term work and future product commitments for the more than 6,000 workers represented by the union at Windsor Assembly.
“Windsor Assembly Plant, making sure that we’re locking in things to secure that third shift, to make sure that third shift is fully utilized and running at its best potential,” Stewart said.
He says the talks may be the most difficult he’s faced because of challenges confronting both Stellantis and the broader auto sector.
“Stellantis has some challenges, and one of them being that our Windsor assembly plant needs needs more oxygen to make sure we’re viable. And the fact that they’re going to sell off the Brampton Assembly Plant, or at least that’s their intention, makes this really difficult,” said Stewart.
Earlier this month, Unifor said Stellantis notified the union it is seriously considering the sale and closure of its idled Brampton Assembly Plant.
Tariffs and cross-border trade uncertainty are adding another layer of complexity. Stewart says unlike past rounds of bargaining, the union cannot negotiate solutions to government trade policies.
“We are facing something we’ve never faced, and when I say that, in the past when there was troubles and it was related to costs or or whatever, we had the ability to bargain some relief for companies,” he said.
“In this case, we can’t bargain relief to the trade war. We can’t fix that. We’re not at the table. We’re not bargaining with the US. We’re not the Canadian government or the Ontario government, whatever governments are involved.”
The union and Stellantis are scheduled to begin negotiations 11 a.m. on Sept. 1 in Toronto.
The current collective agreement expires Sept. 20, although the union hopes to reach a deal before the deadline.