Tensions at Titan Tool and Die on Monday have been cooled at least temporarily.
The business was a site of protest when workers stopping a truck from leaving the shop over fears it was shipping off equipment to the United States.
According to UNIFOR, the equipment which is used to make auto parts was bound for a Titan factory in Michigan. The union expressed a strong belief that the departure of the equipment would ultimately result in the plant being shut down in the foreseeable future.
“We are not going to allow them to take our jobs to the States,” Sarkis Gaspar Unifor Local 195 representative told CTV News.
At the end of the day, the truck did not leave.
The company did back down and agreed to work on a solution in talks with the union overnight.
“We’re not just going to stand by and just say, okay, here, take the molds and go,” said Unifor National Representative DJ Lacey. “It’s not just for our members, it’s also for the community.”
Unifor local 195 is hoping for assurances from the company that jobs will remain in Windsor.
Given the company’s lengthy history, Lacey said a solution is needed to ensure both sides can “prosper” amid U.S. tariffs.
“I’m very hopeful, that the employer will sit down, have a good conversation with us, and, you know, and get to the bottom of this,” Lacey said.
“If this is indeed any indication on how this employer is thinking of their next business move, then I think we need to really hash it out.”
The local head said that they believed that those assurances had been given by the company, but that one truck loaded with equipment was sent out on Monday morning, which prompted the workers to take action to stop the second truck from leaving.
There are about 20 unionized workers at the plant, with another 40 laid off at present.
CTV News Windsor has reached out to Titan Tool & Die for comment but has yet to hear back.
- with files from CTV Windsor’s Robert Lothian
