Unifor sets Stellantis strike vote for Oct. 17 and 18

Stellantis strike vote: Unifor members, including Windsor Assembly workers, vote Oct. 17 and 18. Results Oct. 19, the same week the plant starts three weeks of downtime Stellantis ties to tariffs and demand. A yes vote allows a strike. It doesn't start one.

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Unifor announced the vote on Tuesday, Oct. 6, saying talks with Stellantis remain at an impasse. The union said it had tried to reach a tentative agreement without a strike vote, as it did with Ford and General Motors. A strike authorization gives the bargaining committee the authority to call a strike if necessary, and the union says it does not automatically mean a strike will take place.

What is unresolved

Unifor says the issues include the future of the idled Brampton Assembly Plant and the core economic pattern, which it says Stellantis has made conditional on an agreement to close and sell the Brampton plant. Stellantis has signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel, which has expressed interest in buying the facility, CBC News reported. The union says the unresolved issues also cover job security for all members and the future of Stellantis operations across Canada.

Unifor Local 444 president James Stewart, who chairs the Stellantis master bargaining committee, told AM800 News the union wants the commitment on the Windsor Assembly Plant's third shift kept. "This is a normal part of bargaining; it shouldn't surprise anybody," he said.

Stellantis spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin told the Windsor Star the company "remains committed to bargaining in good faith and is prepared to continue discussions toward a negotiated agreement."

Downtime at the plant

Stellantis said Oct. 2 that the Windsor Assembly Plant will be down the weeks of Oct. 19 and 26 and Nov. 2, citing consumer demand and the impact of tariffs, CBC News reported. The company said workers are following the terms of the expired collective agreement for now. That agreement expired Sept. 20.

CBC News and AM800 News put the plant's workforce at more than 6,400. The plant builds the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager and Grand Caravan minivans and the Dodge Charger, AM800 reported.