In one of its first acts as the new operator of the Windsor Assembly Plant, Stellantis has informed Unifor Local 444 it will not pay workers if a blockade at the plant's entrance continues.
"We have advised Unifor leadership that if our Windsor Assembly Plant production is impacted by any unlawful blockade, employees will not be paid for the period of any shutdown caused by Unifor's deliberate actions," read a statement released Monday morning.
The blockade started back on January 4 when Motipark took over a contract to move vehicles from the assembly line to storage lots across the city.
Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy believed he had an agreement with Motipark that it would respect successor rights for 60 members who had been employed by Auto Warehousing Company. AWC had the contract previously, but Motipark took it over January 1.
Motipark hired its own employees sparking the blockade by Unifor leadership.
On January 11, the blockade came to a brief end after Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles had AWC come back to continue the work until Unifor could resolve its issues with Motipark.
Unifor has also filed an application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board over Motipark's refusal to respect successor rights.
The union re-established the blockade on Saturday after AWC workers were "walked off the job."
"AWC Brothers and Sisters being walked off the job to simply be replaced with a cheaper workforce should be a wake up call to all of us," read a post Saturday on Unifor Local 444's Facebook page. "How can we just sit back and let it happen? We're blocking the workers from Motipark coming in to do our work. It's not happening without a fight."
On Monday morning, Stellantis said, "it is unfortunate Unifor is choosing to use this inappropriate tactic of blockading our property even though Stellantis is not involved in the dispute, and knowing that its effect will soon result in our Windsor operations being shut down."
The Windsor Assembly Plant employs 4,000 workers.
Stellantis is the newly formed company following the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Groupe PSA, a European conglomerate of European auto makers. The merger was completed on Saturday after an 18-month long process.