The future of Stellantis’ Brampton Assembly Plant is pushing the automaker and Unifor toward a possible strike in Canada. The union will ask more than 9,000 workers to vote on October 17 and 18 after accusing Stellantis of tying the economic terms of a new contract to an agreement to close and sell the Ontario plant. The negotiations also cover the future of the group’s other Canadian facilities.
Stellantis workers to vote on strike authorization amid Brampton standoff
Unifor will announce the results on October 19. A favorable vote would give the bargaining committee authority to call a strike if necessary, but workers would not automatically walk off the job. The union considers a strike a last resort, although it believes that option could provide additional leverage if negotiations remain deadlocked.
Stellantis has said it wants to reach an agreement that recognizes employees’ contributions while keeping its Canadian operations competitive. That position, however, does not resolve Unifor’s demand for new vehicle production at Brampton.
The plant could eventually pass to Roshel, a Canadian company that manufactures armored vehicles, after Stellantis signed a memorandum of understanding related to a potential sale. In a September 11 update, Unifor said the automaker had already begun seriously considering a sale in August. The development followed Stellantis’ decision in 2025 to change its previous Jeep production plans for Brampton, although the company later raised the possibility of bringing new vehicle programs to the facility.
Unifor fears that a change in ownership and industrial activity could put workers’ wages, pensions and other benefits at risk. The union wants an acceptable solution for members of Brampton Local 1285 that also protects jobs and limits the impact on suppliers that depend on a major automotive assembly operation in the area.
Workers at Windsor Assembly and the Etobicoke Casting Plant also want guarantees about future production programs. Unifor had already raised concerns about the lack of firm commitments for those facilities, broadening the dispute beyond Brampton to the future of Stellantis’ Canadian operations as a whole.
The negotiations therefore involve job-security commitments for employees who have no direct connection to the possible sale of the Brampton plant.
Unifor initially hoped to reach an agreement without holding a strike authorization vote, as it did during negotiations with Ford and General Motors. The previous Stellantis collective agreement expired on September 20, and weeks of difficult negotiations have now prompted the union to turn to its members for additional bargaining leverage.
Even if workers authorize a strike, the bargaining committee would still decide whether and when to call one. The vote therefore increases the pressure on the negotiations without setting an automatic date for a work stoppage.
