The unit chairperson at Titan Tool and Die in Windsor says the workers "will not go back and bend the knee for this company."
Randy St. Pierre, who's worked at Titan for 32 years, made the comment following a special meeting with the unionized workers at the plant on Howard Avenue, who have been locked out since August 11 after contract talks failed.
Unifor Local 195 represents the workers, and on Tuesday the bargaining team updated the members on the current status of negotiations as the employer seeks 15 pages in concessions, according to Unifor Local 195 President Emile Nabbout.
The union says the workers rejected the concessions while giving the bargaining team 100 per cent support in negotiations.
St. Pierre says their resolve is stronger than ever.
"I've got a message for Titan Tool and Die, the management there. We will outlast them; we will not give up on this. We are not going back and bending the knee to this company to go back to work. It's just not going to happen," he says.
The rejected company offer included a three-year wage freeze, a new permanent lower wage grid for employees hired after ratification, the elimination of cost-of-living allowance and annual lump-sum wage supplements, and a reduction of company pension contributions from 7% to 5% for employees hired before October 2012. From 4% to 3% for employees hired after October 2012
The proposed concessions also included a new pension qualifier: the company contributes only if employees contribute despite a wage freeze. The combined effect of the company's pension demands could result in a loss of nearly $13,500 in pension contributions over a three-year contract, elimination of retirement health care benefits for those retiring at age 55+ with at least 10 years of service, and mandatory overtime.
"I've bargained six contracts with them, and I've never seen them come with 15 pages of concessions. We've been fair with this company all along, and to see that is very disheartening. It almost was like they didn't want to get a collective agreement," he says.
St. Pierre says they've been more than fair with this company for more than 12 years.
"We've given up a lot for these guys so that they can continue to do their business," he says. "At some point, and now is the time, we needed a raise. With inflation the way it is, we couldn't run our own households anymore with the amount of money we were making because we froze so many times. We haven't seen a raise in 12 years; 20 cents in 12 years is not a lot of money."
The union represents 60 members, with 27 active members and the rest laid off.
In March, union members blocked a transport from leaving Titan Tool and Die's main gates in April after they learned the company moved equipment across the border.
Lawyers for Titan argued for and received a Superior Court injunction preventing the union from further delaying trucks in April.
Then in mid-August, after contract talks failed, Titan locked the workers out. By mid-September, Unifor National staged a noisy rally in support of Titan workers.
Tempers flared afterwards, when Unifor members walked to Titan's subsidiary, Futura Tool and Die.
It is not unionized, and Unifor alleges the company is shifting production from Titan to Futura.
On September 23, Titan's lawyers returned to court and asked for an expanded injunction for 2801 Howard Avenue (Titan's secondary exit) as well as 305 Charles Street (Futura).
They said further delays in moving products would cause irreparable damage to their business.
On October 1, Justice Jasminka Kalajdzic ruled in favour of Titan.