Negotiations at Flex-N-Gate deadlocked, strike looms
Contract talks at Lakeshore factory grind to a halt, action could begin by May 18
A lot can happen between now and then, and our inventory can fluctuate between now and then as well.
Union employees at the Flex-NGate Lakeshore facility are prepared for possible strike action after contract talks ground to a halt earlier this week.
A strike could directly impact the flow of parts supplied to the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plant in Windsor, which relies on FlexNGate for Chrysler minivan door rails, according to Unifor Local 195 president Gerry Farnham.
Strike action would “have a direct effect pretty quickly” on Windsor’s FCA facility, he said.
If no resolution is reached with Flex-N-Gate management, union officials say strike action could begin at 12:01 a.m. on May 18.
“We haven’t reached what we believe is an agreement that the membership would accept,” said Farnham, who would not discuss specific contract demands.
“The bargaining committee has a good understanding of what their membership wants, and what has been offered by the employer while we were in bargaining isn’t where the committee feels they need to be in order to bring it back to the membership for a ratification vote.”
The more than 200 unionized employees at Flex-N-Gate voted 99 per cent in favour of strike action, if necessary, on Apr. 22.
No further bargaining sessions are scheduled at this time.
Flex-N-Gate could not be reached for comment.
Dino Chiodo, president of Unifor Local 444 representing more than 6,000 workers at the FCA plant in Windsor, said he’s hopeful a resolution can be reached.
“At this point, seven days in a bargaining world is a long period of time,” Chiodo said. “Right now, I’m not that concerned.”
The just-in-time system used at the FCA plant could lead to inventory issues without a steady supply of parts from Flex-N-Gate.
“At some point, it would negatively impact the facility, causing it to shut down,” Chiodo said.
The impact on production would depend on how much or little supply was in FCA’s inventory.
“It’s still a little bit early,” said Chiodo. “A lot can happen between now and then, and our inventory can fluctuate between now and then as well.
“I’m still hopeful that they can get some resolutions and get a number of their issues resolved.”