Two auto parts suppliers to the Windsor Assembly Plant are on strike.
Just after 12:00am Sunday, Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart informed AM800 News, 'as of midnight, both HBPO and Dakkota are on strike."
Meanwhile, a tentative agreement has been reached with Avencez Assembly Canada.
Stewart says the Avencez deal is the framework for all four deals, and the ball is now in the employer's court.
"The bargaining process is really done. We've gone through it with each company and they've had an opportunity to take the lead and ultimately we have a deal we think absolutely reflects the wants and needs of our members," he says.
He says members are standing firm behind their demands.
"The companies have all the information they need to make the decisions they need to ultimately, because they know working with Unifor that pattern is going to be met, it's up to them how we get there," says Stewart. "Our members have been clear that they won't accept anything less than what we know we've already bargained."
With a strong economy, Stewart says workers deserve gains in all aspects of the deal.
"It's wages, it's benefits, it's workplace issues, it's almost every aspect," he says. “We still need work with the other companies that are left."
The union began strike preparation at the union hall on Turner Rd. Friday night. If any of the four plants strike, it would have an impact on the Windsor Assembly Plant almost immediately.
There are roughly 700 workers at the four feeder plants.
