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The Unifor Stellantis Council united as it vowed to take any action necessary to hold Stellantis to its commitments to manufacture vehicles at the Brampton Assembly Plant (BAP).
At an emergency meeting held October 17 in London, Ontario, the Council voted unanimously to support a Statement on Brampton Assembly Plant following Stellantis’ declaration that it was abandoning its commitment to retool the facility for production of the next-generation Jeep Compass and moving that work to the United States as part of a new $13 billion investment south of the border.
The Council made the union’s position clear: the promised J4U (Jeep Compass) program that was contractually committed to Brampton Assembly will stay at Brampton Assembly.
“We bargained a commitment to Brampton with Stellantis that we took and ratified with our members. Now we are at a point where the company is saying we don’t care, and we don’t recognize it,” said James Stewart, Unifor Stellantis Master Bargaining Chairperson.
“If we lose this fight, it’s not just that we’ve lost the Brampton Assembly Plant, but we’ve also lost the ability to bargain job security in the future if the company is going to ignore signed documents. Stellantis has commitments to Canada – they have commitments to Brampton Assembly Plant.”
Vito Beato, President of Local 1285, spoke to the devastating impact on Brampton members who have been on layoff since January 2024.
“Members are worried that our plant is gone, that there is no product for our plant. I see it in their eyes; I hear it in their voices. All they’ve done is do what they’ve been asked to do and deliver big profits to the corporation. They deserve product in Brampton,” said Beato.
As Council delegates discussed next steps, the message was clear: Unifor is prepared to put everything on the line to defend Brampton jobs.
Stellantis Unit Chairs stood together to put forward a motion to do anything necessary to support BAP workers in maintaining production commitments. In a show of solidarity, Unifor Auto Council Chairperson and Ford Master Bargaining Committee Chair John D’Agnolo and General Motors Master Bargaining Committee Chair Trevor Longpre pledged their support to defend Canadian auto jobs in Brampton and across the country.
“Nothing is leaving that plant. Because everyone is watching to see what we will do to protect BAP because it’s going to snowball if we fail. So, we will do whatever it takes to protect BAP – to protect our auto industry,” stressed Beato.
Unifor National President Lana Payne emphasized the far-reaching implications of Stellantis’ decision.
“We all know what’s at stake here. If Stellantis can get away with this, what’s stopping the next corporation — whether it’s GM, or Ford, or any other company — because Brampton is the line in the sand. If this is allowed to occur, the bleeding of jobs will continue unabated, and we have half a million jobs depending on this industry,” said Payne.
Payne warned the company is engaging in stall tactics with public statements that it has plans for Brampton that it refuses to specify as it transitions work out of Canada.
“Stellantis thinks they can figure out what they are going to do with Brampton after we get through trade negotiations with the United States – that is not what was promised to our members. This is Stellantis trying to punt this problem down the road, and we all know how that will end up. We have three thousand members hanging on by a thread – so these assurances from Stellantis are worthless right now.”
Joining the meeting from Ottawa, Payne shared that she has been in direct talks with government officials, including Prime Minister Carney, where she underscored the need for a Team Canada approach.
“We can’t allow Trump to pit province against province, sector against sector and worker against worker. We need to stand together, we want products in the plant, and we want the company to be held accountable to their commitments,” said Payne.
As the Council adjourned, the message was unanimous and unwavering: Stellantis must keep its promises to Brampton, and Unifor will use every tool at its disposal to make sure it does.
