Unifor demands to know what Titan's plans are for the future of its tool and die operation in Windsor.
Unifor leadership questions if Titan Tool and Die is even under financial duress as its workers spend another day picketing outside the Howard Avenue facility.
"Our union has been clear that we will not tolerate any company using the trade war as cover to strip their plants, lock out workers, and ship jobs out of Canada," said National President Lana Payne. "Titan Tool and Die may think its heavy-handed tactics will slip under the radar, but Canadians are watching. We will not stand by while corporations exploit this moment to cut and run."
The letter to Titan management is an escalation of the labour dispute that has simmered for months.
"Throughout these negotiations, Titan Tool and Die management has shown nothing but contempt for the people who built this company," said Payne. "They've hollowed out the plant, demanded steep concessions, and then slammed the door in our members' faces after decades of loyalty and dedication."
Talks between Unifor Local 195 and Titan began on July 21 after the two sides agreed to open contract discussions in mid-summer. Days before negotiations started, the union said Titan informed the union that Autokiniton would remove its equipment from the plant. As of July 29, the facility was empty, the same day the company tabled a 15-page package asking for more concessions that would effectively freeze workers' pay, eliminate the cost-of-living allowance, cut pension contributions by almost 30 per cent, and slash benefits.
"This is as heartless as it gets," Payne said.
After Titan expressed its intentions, the union said it continued to pursue negotiations. Then, on August 8, the company said it was locking the workers out unless the union accepted the concessions.
The company was founded in 1956, and many of the workers have been employed by Titan for decades.
According to Unifor's records, the company has benefited from years of cost savings. It said a wind-up of the workers' benefit pension plan in 2012 left the plan with a substantial shortfall, while real wages decreased by 15 per cent and skilled workers' pay reduced 18 per cent. The union says the latest wage offer would result in another 11 per cent decline in real wages over the next four years.
WindsorNewsToday.ca has reached out to Titan Tool and Die for comment, but has not heard back from the company.