Titan Tool & Die has locked out about 60 Unifor Local 195 members in Windsor, Ont., after contract talks broke down over what the union describes as sweeping concession demands.
The company closed its doors to the workers on Aug. 11, according to Unifor, following weeks of tension over the removal of equipment from the plant and proposed cuts to wages, benefits and pensions.
Union alleges plant ‘hollowed out’
Unifor said that days before bargaining began on July 21, Titan Tool & Die informed the union that Autokiniton, a key customer, would remove its dies, tooling and equipment from the Windsor facility. Between July 23 and July 25, truckloads of parts and tools left the plant. By July 29, the union said, the facility was nearly emptied of all work.
On the same day, the company tabled a 15-page proposal that included a wage freeze, elimination of the cost of living allowance, a nearly 30 per cent cut to pension contributions, and reduced benefits for workers and their families.
“Throughout these negotiations, Titan Tool & Die’s management has shown nothing but contempt for the people who built this company,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne in a statement.
Lockout follows threat over concessions
Unifor said its members — many with 30 to 40 years of service and an average age of 59 — continued reporting for work despite being sent home after four hours a day due to lack of work. On Aug. 8, the union received a letter from the company stating workers would be locked out unless all concessions were accepted. Three days later, the lockout began.
Local 195 president Emile Nabbout said the move signalled an intention to shift production to Titan’s U.S. facility. “Now the company has locked them out, turned its back on Windsor, and is preparing to move our jobs across the border,” he said.
Union questions financial hardship claims
In a letter to the company on Aug. 13, Unifor asked Titan Tool & Die to clarify its long-term plans for the Windsor plant and challenged its claims of financial strain.
The union noted the company had already realized cost savings over the years, including the 2012 wind-up of its defined benefit pension plan, which Unifor says left a $4-million shortfall unfunded, along with wage freezes and an extended wage progression. It calculates that real wages for production workers fell 15 per cent and for skilled trades 18 per cent between 2009 and 2024, when adjusted for inflation. The union says the latest offer would mean an additional 11 per cent decline over the next four years.
Titan Tool & Die was founded in Windsor in 1956 and produces precision parts for the auto industry.
