Auto parts strike takes toll at assembly plant
296 ZF-TRW workers reject agreement, slowing van production the same day
Production has been cancelled for Saturday and the work status of thousands of jobs connected to the Windsor Assembly Plant was thrown up in the air Friday when 296 employees at parts supplier ZF-TRW went on strike earlier in the day.
Employees from the supply plant, which has two locations in Windsor, rejected a tentative agreement presented by their union Thursday night and hit the picket line with no further talks scheduled as of late Friday. Production at the local minivan plant was affected within hours due to a parts shortage created by the work stoppage.
The plant’s Friday midnight shift was cancelled.
Should the strike drag on, not only would FCA Canada employees at Windsor Assembly continue to feel an impact, but also thousands of workers from area parts supply companies now that production has shut down. “FCA is monitoring the status of negotiations between a modular supplier in Windsor and Unifor,” company spokeswoman Lou Ann Gosselin said on Friday. “(FCA) is assessing production schedules at its Windsor Assembly Plant on a shift-by-shift basis.” The company indicated around 4 p.m. Friday that production was cancelled for Saturday.
The ZF-TRW company makes transmission systems, units and components, chassis systems, electronics, sensors and safety technology. For use at Windsor Assembly, the workers sub assemble shocks, struts, springs and rear suspensions.
The job status of thousands across the area is at stake following the strike at the local parts supplier, agreed James Stewart, union president for Unifor Local 444, which represents those on the ZF-TRW picket line. “There are a lot of people who depend on the course this takes, so it is very serious,” he said. “But our members (ZF) have been clear on this, so we are just trying to do the best we can for them.” Production slowed on Friday “within three to four hours” at the FCA Canada minivan plant in Windsor following the strike launch, Stewart said.
“That happened rather quick,” he said.
ZF-TRW in Windsor is part of a global corporation formed after German auto parts manufacturer ZF Friedrichshafen bought Michigan-based TRW Automotive in 2014.
It is one of four parts suppliers in Windsor with almost identical union contracts.
On Thursday night, employees of Avancez Assembly, Dakkota Integrated Systems, and HBPO Canada Inc. ratified the pattern agreement negotiated by Local 444. But employees of ZF-TRW rejected the deal, with only 38 per cent of their members in favour. Employees at Avancez and Dakkota ratified the tentative agreement by 78 per cent, employees at HBPO Canada Inc. ratified it by 56.2 per cent.
Wages were initially cited as a the primary concern as to why the contract was rejected, Stewart said.
A majority of the workers on the picket line earned $19.40 per hour under the previous contract, which expired on March 4. “The (ratification) meeting went well,” Stewart said. “I think it was a good agreement. We had two of the suppliers at 80 per cent, and the others at 50 or below. “That tells me there might be workplace issues at those two plants the workers are not happy with and the way they see it is, higher wages can help address that.”
Asked how workers at ZF-TRW can now receive anything different in a contract than the other three parts plants that agreed to ratify, Stewart said that would “depend on the bargaining process.” “The culture has always been the pattern,” he said.
“We are just trying to wrap our heads around this and look at the big picture to figure where we go next.”