Ford and FCA workers from Windsor and Essex have provided a strong strike mandate for Unifor as negotiations with the Big Three automakers heat up.

Unifor local 200 president Chris Taylor says about 400 of 1500 workers turned out to the Caboto Club today, voting 98.3 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.

“This is it,” said Taylor, of the importance of the ongoing auto talks. “If we're not successful here, then we have a great, great fear that Windsor's days are numbered and that's not something we're going to accept."

Taylor said at its peak, Ford employed 6300 people in Windsor and Essex at six facilities. Today, that footprint is much smaller, with 1500 workers at three facilities.

Taylor says the main priority for his workers is new product investment. This, on the heels of news Ford’s sales volumes are down, which could impact some jobs locally.

"We're waiting right now to find out. It’s Terrible timing, but nothing new to this site,” said Taylor. “But it just strengthens our resolve more. That just proves the reason why we're at the table now saying we have to have investment on this site. We've had enough of the layoffs."

Ford employee Radnilo Avdalovic says he’s not confident going into bargaining.

“If we don't get through this round we never will,” said Avdalovic after sitting through the strike authorization meeting. “Because it's been so many years, we didn't get anything, and this site has been killed like no place anywhere in the world."

Meantime, 1500 Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles workers voted 99 per cent for a strike mandate.

“it's a good feeling. It's good to know our members support us,” said Dino Chiodo, the president of Unifor local 444. “We’re committed to bringing a good settlement to our members on ratification."

Fresh off the heels of a 2.6-billion dollar investment by FCA into the Windsor facility and the new Pacifica minivan, Chiodo says they will push for investment in Brampton’s paint shop. They will then shift efforts to wages, benefits and pensions, which Chiodo says haven't improved in more than a decade.

"There's a litany of demands we're looking at -- it covers everything in our collective agreement,” Chiodo says. “We are going to walk through every one of those demands and make sure that we don't leave any stone unturned trying to establish a good pattern for our members on a go-forward basis."

The current four-year contract officially expires on Sept. 19th.