Workers at Windsor Assembly Plant will be back on the job this week after a two-week production pause.
The plant was down the weeks of April 7 and April 14 due to an announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2 that he was moving forward with 25 per cent tariffs on automobile imports.
Just a few days after those tariffs were implemented, Trump announced a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs for most nations.
Despite some pauses, the levies on steel and aluminum, which took effect in mid-March, are still in place.
Workers will return to two full shifts starting Tuesday morning and afternoons for two weeks. The company has made no decisions on what will happen beyond those two weeks.
“We’re back for the two weeks, full production on two shifts. They’ll be making more assessments over that two weeks, trying to see if things are going to change in the United States. That will have an impact here in Canada for sure. So, they’re still assessing, but right now, it’s two-week period and we’ll go from there,” said Unifor Local 444 President, James Stewart.
Despite the uncertainty, he said everyone is happy to return to work, but not without concerns.
“The attack against the auto industry in Canada hasn’t stopped, so that’s concerning. I know that President Trump has put off the reciprocal tariffs for 90-days whether or not that stays true or not - we don’t know. But I think they’re happy to be back to work, there’s still a concern long term about how things work out here.”
Going forward, Stewart added, the union will continue to update workers as soon as they can.
“Usually, we get out there and try and spread messages as soon as we have them. We’re continuing to have conversations both with the governments and the company trying to keep pushing them to do everything they can to keep production running in Canada for as long as possible.”
The Windsor Assembly Plant produces the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, parts for the Chrysler Grand Caravan, and builds the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona.
Unifor Local 444 represents 4,500 workers at the plant.
— Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News
