Workers blockade Windsor factory trying to ship machinery to U.S.

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With fears of jobs being exported to the U.S. amid a trade war, workers briefly blockaded a Windsor auto parts manufacturer late on Monday afternoon.

The employees, members of Unifor Local 195, only ended the blockade at Titan Tool and Die after the company agreed to unload a truckload of tools and dies it was attempting to ship across the border to Michigan.

It is the most public skirmish to date locally over President Donald Trump’s tariff tactics that aim to force Canadian manufacturers to move production to the United States.

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“The company agreed to unload the tools and dies off the truck, so we’ve ended the blockade,” Local 195 president Emile Nabbout told the Star.

“They’ve put the dies back on the shop floor. The union and employer will sit down and discuss multiple solutions.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, so I’m not sure where this will go.”

While work had been slow at the plant, Nabbout said tariffs were clearly the motivation for the removal of the dies on the eve of Trump’s April 2 deadline to begin placing a 25 per cent tariff on all non-American vehicles and parts.

Currently, 40 of the plant’s 65 employees have been on layoff for four to five months.

Titan Tool is a stamping facility for Tier II and III customers in the automotive industry. The Star contacted the company for comment, but didn’t receive a reply.

Titan has a plant in Warren, Mich., called Titan USA and operates Futura Inc. in Windsor.

“We don’t have issues with Titan Tool,” Nabbout said. “They’re a long-standing Windsor company of many decades.

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“Customers are asking these tools be moved. We have to fight for our jobs because of Trump’s illegal trade actions.”

The blockade began Monday after union officials became aware the company was preparing to send a second truck to Michigan with equipment. The company managed to get one shipment of dies out early Monday morning ahead of employees reporting for work at the Howard Avenue plant in Windsor.

We can’t let Trump destroy our community

Nabbout said the blockade was erected after he talked to plant management and thought he’d secured a two-hour window to discuss the issues with the the key players.

“They agreed to the two-hour pause, but then half an hour later they started loading more dies on the truck,” Nabbout said. “They had two or three dies on the truck.

“This isn’t just about this plant. If we let this happen, it’ll spread and it will be felt in other industries and stores, restaurants … we can’t let Trump destroy our community.

“We need employers, politicians and workers to stand with us to protect Canadian jobs. If we don’t, Windsor will become a desert.”

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Nabbout said Titan management claims it’s trying to find new work for the plant, but removing dies doesn’t help make the facility more attractive to potential customers.

“It’ll only get worse if you move the dies,” Nabbout said. “That’s not a solution.”

Nabbout said Monday’s developments are particularly disappointing given other employers in the local automotive supply sector have been cooperative in working with Unifor to try and navigate a pathway through the uncertainty ahead.

“Many Windsor employers have been cooperative, and we appreciate the support in working through this,” Nabbout said.

“They’ve been telling their customers we can’t do this. Many only have operations on the Windsor side and don’t want to move stuff to the states.

“Some are afraid to say no to their customers. Then we’ll have no problem saying ‘no’ and preventing the moving of machinery.”

The Titan Tool standoff erupted only days after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had redirected his campaign to the Windsor area to address the growing trade crisis and the potential for just this type of situation.

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Singh joined Unifor officials who are increasingly pushing the concept of needing to build products in Canada if you want to sell in this country — the foundational principal of the 1965 Auto Pact that led to the rapid growth of the North American auto industry.

“If U.S. companies want access to our markets, they need to invest in our people,” Singh said in a statement.

“That means using Canadian parts or assembling here. We’re done letting billionaires profit off Canadian workers without giving anything back.”

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