Latest news with #UniforLocal444
CBC
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
'We know how to win,' Unifor president tells workers at Windsor rally amid trade war
"These are not your jobs to take." That was the message from Unifor President Lana Payne to U.S. President Donald Trump in a fiery rally held in Windsor Saturday afternoon. Hundreds gathered at Festival Plaza, including busloads of workers from southwestern Ontario and GTA auto communities who came to Windsor for the "Protect Canadian Jobs" rally. "We have jobs to protect, we have a union to defend and we have a country to stand up for," Payne told workers. "But if there's one thing I know ... it's what this union is capable of. Because we know how to fight, and we know how to fight smart. We know how to organize and yes, damn it, we know how to win." Payne also spoke about the history of the union, which has its roots in Windsor and is at the centre of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and tariffs. "Here we are again, confronting some of the most powerful forces on the planet," she said. "This is the fight of our lives ... and there's no one I would rather face it with than all of you." "Our plants, our jobs, our communities, our country. We're fighting for all of it." Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart, who leads thousands of members at the Windsor Assembly Plant, placed the blame for the trade war square with the U.S. administration. "The other lie is that Canadians and Canada stole the U.S. auto industry, that's a lie," he said. John D'Agnolo, president of Unifor Local 200 representing workers at two Windsor-Essex Ford engine plants, also encouraged crowds to remember workers in other impacted sectors — lumber, steel and aluminum among them. "It's not just about auto," he said. "We got to protect one another. That's what this is all about today." NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also attended Saturday's rally, speaking with workers as he made his way through the crowd. Other federal election candidates were in attendance, as were Windsor-Essex MPPs and Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles. Workers from Oshawa told CBC Windsor they are feeling the uncertainty. "I worked really hard for a career, right? I'm only young. I worked really hard for this and I would like to keep going with it. It's really important to me," said Maya Rigby, who works for TFT Global, a company that provides services to General Motors' Oshawa plant. Rigby drew in the drug epidemic, which she says is "absolutely terrible" but is helped by having solid auto jobs in the community. "GM being open saves a lot of people," she said. "They're getting proper jobs. They're being given the opportunity to have a second chance at life." One worker at a Windsor vehicle parts manufacturer said he is "terrified" for the future. "I'm here ... to stand in solidarity with our union members, to fight against the U.S. president who's been trying to impose all these tariffs which are leading us for layoffs and shutdown," said Asif Shaik, a team leader at CpK Interior Products, an interior automotive parts manufacturer.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Stellantis to pause production at Windsor plant, lay off 900 workers in Midwest
— Jeep-maker Stellantis is idling production at plants in Canada and Mexico and will temporarily lay off 900 workers in the Midwest. Beginning April 7, Stellantis will pause production at its Windsor Assembly Plant for weeks, with operations set to resume the week of April 21. The decision will impact 4,500 represented Windsor employees. 'While we had heard rumours of potential downtime, the company said there are multiple factors at play, with the primary driver behind the final decision being this afternoon's announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump of the U.S. tariffs,' said Unifor Local 444 President James Stewart in a social media post Wednesday night. The automaker is also temporarily pausing production at its Toluca (Mexico) Assembly Plant for April. The plant will idle production on April 7. As a result of the pause, 900 workers at the company's Warren Stamping and Sterling Stamping plants in Michigan, as well as its Indiana Transmission Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant and Kokomo Casting Plant, are being laid off. In a letter sent to employees Thursday morning, Antonio Filosa, Stellantis' Chief Operating Officer for the Americas, said the automaker is continuing to assess the impacts of tariffs on its operations. 'We are continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs on our operations, but also have decided to take some immediate actions, including temporarily pausing production at some of our Canadian and Mexican assembly plants. Those actions will impact some employees at several of our U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities that support those operations,' Filosa said. Filosa says Stellantis acknowledges that 'the current environment creates uncertainty. Be assured that we are very engaged with all of our key stakeholders, including top government leaders, unions, suppliers and dealers in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as we work to manage and adapt to these changes. We are focused on taking responsible actions that are in the best interests of our customers, our business partners and you, our employees – wherever you work.' In response to the layoffs, UAW President Shawn Fain said 'Stellantis continues to play games with workers' lives. As we've shown time and again, they've got the money, the capacity, the product, and the workforce to employ thousands more UAW members in Michigan, Indiana, and beyond. These layoffs are a completely unnecessary choice that the company is making. It's more of the same, and everything that's wrong with our broken trade system. Companies like Stellantis use workers as collateral damage to pay the price for management's poor decisions, and it's unacceptable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will match US car tariffs
Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada will match US President Donald Trump's 25% car tariffs with a tariff on vehicles imported from the United States. Mr Trump's previously announced 25% tariffs on car imports took effect on Thursday. The prime minister said he told Mr Trump last week in a phone call that he would be retaliating for those tariffs. 'We take these measures reluctantly. And we take them in ways that is intended and will cause maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact in Canada,' Mr Carney said. Mr Carney said Canada would not put tariffs on car parts as Mr Trump has done, because he said Canadians know the benefits of the integrated auto sector. The parts can go back and forth across the Canada-US border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan. Mr Carney said Canadians are already seeing the impact. Automaker Stellantis said it shut down its assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, for two weeks from April 7, the local union said late on Wednesday. The president of Unifor Local 444, James Stewart, said more scheduling changes were expected in the coming weeks. Mr Carney said that will impact 3,600 workers that he met with last week. Autos are Canada's second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries. Mr Carney announced a 'strategic response fund' worth two billion Canadian dollars (£1.08 billion) that will protect Canadian jobs affected by Mr Trump's tariffs. Mr Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminium and Mr Carney said the country can expect further tariffs on pharmaceuticals, lumber and semi-conductors. 'Given the prospective damage to their own people, the American administration should eventually change course,' Mr Carney said. 'Although their policy will hurt American families until that pain becomes impossible to ignore, I do not believe they will change direction, so the road to that point may indeed be long. And will be hard on Canadians just as it will be on other partners of the United States.' Mr Carney, a former two-time central banker in Canada and the UK, said Mr Trump's actions will reverberate in Canada and across the world. 'They are all unjustified and unwarranted and in our judgement misguided,' Carney said. Canada's initial 30 billion Canadian dollars (£16.2 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs remain in place, having been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products. Mr Carney suspended his election campaign to return to Ottawa to deal with Mr Trump's tariffs. Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he would remove the federal tax on Canadian-made vehicles. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada's auto industry, called Canada's latest tariffs a 'measured response'.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Canadian prime minister says Canada will match US auto tariffs
TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Canada will match U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% auto tariffs with a tariff on vehicles imported from the United States. Trump's previously announced 25% tariffs on auto imports took effect Thursday. The prime minister said he told Trump last week in a phone call that he would be retaliating for those tariffs. "We take these measures reluctantly. And we take them in ways that is intended and will cause maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact in Canada,' Carney said. Carney said Canada won't put tariffs on auto parts as Trump has done, because he said Canadians know the benefits of the integrated auto sector. The parts can go back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan. Carney said Canadians are already seeing the impact. Automaker Stellantis said it shut down its assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, for two weeks from April 7, the local union said late Wednesday. The president of Unifor Local 444, James Stewart, said more scheduling changes were expected in coming weeks. Carney said that will impact 3,600 auto workers that he met with last week. Autos are Canada's second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries. Carney announced last week a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) 'strategic response fund' that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump's tariffs. Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminum. And Carney said Canada can expects further tariffs on pharmaceuticals, lumber and semi-conductors. 'Given the prospective damage to their own people the American administration should eventually change course,' Carney said. 'Although their policy will hurt American families, until that pain becomes impossible to ignore, I do not believe they will change direction, so the road to that point may indeed be long. And will be hard on Canadians just as it will be on other partners of the United States.' Carney, a former two-time central banker in Canada and the U.K, said Trump's actions will reverberate in Canada and across the world. 'They are all unjustified and unwarranted and in our judgement misguided,' Carney said. Canada's initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs remain in place, having been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products. Carney suspended his election campaign to return to Ottawa to deal with Trump's tariffs. Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he would remove the federal tax on Canadian made vehicles. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada's auto industry, called Canada's latest tariffs a 'measured response.'
Washington Post
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will match US auto tariffs
TORONTO — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Canada will match U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% auto tariffs with a tariff on vehicles imported from the United States. Trump's previously announced 25% tariffs on auto imports took effect Thursday. The prime minister said he told Trump last week in a phone call that he would be retaliating for the those tariffs. 'We take these measures reluctantly. And we take them in ways that is intended and will cause maximum impact in the United States and minimum impact in Canada,' Carney said. Carney said Canada won't put tariffs on auto parts as Trump has done, because he said Canadians know the benefits of the integrated auto sector. The parts can go back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan. Carney said Canadians are already seeing the impact. Automaker Stellantis said it shut down its assembly plant in Windsor, Canada, for two weeks from April 7, the local union said late Wednesday. The president of Unifor Local 444, James Stewart, said more scheduling changes were expected in coming weeks. Autos are Canada's second-largest export and the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries. Carney announced last week a CA$2 billion ($1.4 billion) 'strategic response fund' that will protect Canadian auto jobs affected by Trump's tariffs. Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminum. 'Given the prospective damage to their own people the American administration should eventually change course,' Carney said. 'Although their policy will hurt American families, until that pain becomes impossible to ignore, I do not believe they will change direction, so the road to that point may indeed be long. And will be hard on Canadians just as it will be on other partners of the United States.' Carney, a former two-time central banker in Canada and the U.K, said Trump's actions will reverberate in Canada and across the world. 'They are all unjustified and unwarranted and in our judgement misguided,' Carney said. Canada's initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs remain in place, having been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada's auto industry, called Canada's latest tariffs a 'measured response.'
