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Hundreds of members gathered at the Unifor Local 1285 hall on February 19 to hear an update on the union’s push to reopen the idled Stellantis Brampton Assembly Plant.
Unifor Local 1285 President Vito Beato opened the meeting with a message of resolve, vowing to hold the company accountable.
“We are not going to let them off the hook. Stellantis has got to stop appeasing the U.S. administration and look at the federal government’s auto strategy for pieces they can use to get the Brampton plant back up and running,” said Beato.
Beato also detailed the union’s efforts at the municipal level, including lobbying the city to protect the future of the facility. He explained that the union has pushed for a motion at Brampton City Council to rezone the Assembly Plant property as an auto manufacturing zone.
“This has put us in this position right now to get the city on our side and to put the hammer down and zone that facility where we can only build cars,” added Beato.
Stellantis Brampton Assembly Plant Chairperson Ardis Snow thanked members for their solidarity and acknowledged the toll the idling has taken on workers and their families.
“This has been the absolute toughest times we've ever gone through in Brampton. Our members are struggling and we know that our members want and deserve to get back to work,” said Snow.
Jason Watson, Brampton Assembly Plant Skilled Trades Chairperson, outlined measures the union has secured to support members during the shutdown. These include income security protections, credited service recognition, and the continuation of health benefits through the 2026 negotiations.
“Our union has continued to act with purpose, with responsibility and with determination. Our commitment to defending our membership has never wavered,” said Watson.
“This is a difficult moment, but it is moments like this that leadership matters and in these moments, solidarity becomes our greatest strength. Corporations will always prioritize profit. They do not make decisions based on conscience or community. That is why we exist. This is why working people form unions. We are the balance. We are the voice. We are the moral compass. We will continue to fight with integrity and together we will see this through.”
Unifor National President Lana Payne then addressed the membership, outlining the union’s government advocacy efforts as Canada’s auto sector faces mounting pressure from ongoing U.S. trade and tariff threats.
Payne highlighted the union’s fight to ensure auto is not sacrificed in the pursuit of a trade deal, its call for a tariff remission framework that penalizes automakers for reducing their Canadian footprint, and the need for a federal auto policy based on the principle that if you sell here – you build here.
She warned that the challenges facing the industry are not accidental, but part of a broader pattern of economic pressure.
“We need to understand that the attack on our auto industry has been surgical, designed to do exactly what we're seeing. This industry does not belong to Donald Trump or the United States or anybody else. It belongs to us, and we have to fight for it every single minute of every single day.”
Payne pointed out that tariffs do not excuse what happened in Brampton, arguing that Stellantis had other options.
“Since Stellantis announced its temporary pause in February last year, there hasn't been a week when this local team, all of us together, haven't demanded answers and clarity from the company,” Payne said. “We're going to keep building cars in Brampton. Let's keep fighting together, and let's make sure that we are saving this industry for you and for your kids and for the next generation of workers, because they deserve to work in an auto industry in this country.”
Echoing that message of unity and resolve, Beato reinforced the union’s determination and confidence in its members.
“When you look at our history, we have a history of winning,” Beato told members. “I bet on us every single day of the week - us, the leadership and union membership - and twice on Sunday that we'll get through this and build cars in Brampton.”
