Titan Tool & Die locks out veteran Windsor workforce in escalating labour dispute

WINDSOR, ON, Aug. 13, 2025 /CNW/ - The ongoing dispute at Titan Tool & Die continues to escalate after the company locked out approximately 60 Unifor Local 195 members on Monday August 11, 2025, following the company's demands for sweeping concessions and emptying of the plant's tools, equipment and work.

Unifor Local 195 members in Windsor after being locked out by Titan Tool & Die on August 11, 2025, following the company’s sweeping concession demands and removal of equipment from the plant. (CNW Group/Unifor)

"Throughout these negotiations, Titan Tool & Die's management has shown nothing but contempt for the people who built this company," said Unifor National President Lana Payne. "They've hollowed out the plant, demanded steep concessions, and then slammed the door in our members' faces after decades of loyalty and dedication. This is as heartless as it gets. Our union will not tolerate such cold-blooded behaviour."

Negotiations for a renewal agreement between Unifor and Titan Tool & Die began on July 21, 2025, following a mutual decision to open talks in mid-summer. Days before bargaining commenced, Titan Tool & Die informed the union that Autokiniton, one of its key customers, would remove its dies, tooling, and equipment from the facility. Between July 23 and July 25, truckloads of parts and tools left the plant, and by July 29, the facility was nearly emptied of all work. On the same day, the company tabled a 15-page package of deep monetary concessions that would subject workers to a wage freeze, eliminate the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), cut pension contributions by nearly 30%, and slash benefits for workers and their families, among many others.

The union continued to pursue negotiations with the company while workers, many with between 30 and 40 years of service and an average age of 59, reported for work only to be sent home after four hours each day due to lack of available work. On August 8, the company then sent the union a letter threatening to lock out the workforce unless the union accepted all of the company's concessions. Three days later, the company locked its doors on workers.

Founded in Windsor in 1956, Titan Tool & Die has been a cornerstone of the local manufacturing sector, supplying precision parts for the auto industry. The union alleges that the company's recent actions signal an intention to move production to its U.S. facility, abandoning the community that helped it succeed.

"Our members are among the most experienced auto parts workers in Canada, and they've stood by Titan for decades," said Emile Nabbout, President of Unifor Local 195. "Now the company has locked them out, turned its back on Windsor, and is preparing to move our jobs across the border. You don't walk away from a loyal workforce and a community without a fight."

In a letter sent to the company today, Unifor questioned company claims of financial duress and requested that Titan Tool & Die clarify its plans for the future of the Windsor facility.

"Our union has been clear that we will not tolerate any company using the trade war as cover to strip their plants, lock out workers, and ship jobs out of Canada," said Lana Payne. "Titan Tool & Die may think its heavy-handed tactics will slip under the radar, but Canadians are watching. We will not stand by while corporations exploit this moment to cut and run."

Union records show that the company has benefitted from years of cost savings, including a 2012 wind-up of workers' defined benefit pension plan which included a shortfall of approximately $4 million left unfunded by the company as well as several years of wage freezes and a wage progression that expanded from 0 to 6 years. Unifor calculates that, after years of negligible wage increases, production workers' real wages decreased by 15% between 2009-2024 and 18% for skilled trades workers when adjusted for inflation. The union further estimates that the company's latest wage offer would result in an additional 11% decline in real wages for production and skilled trades workers over the next four years.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 320,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

SOURCE Unifor

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