Unifor wants guarantee for Windsor Assembly in FCA talks

​Despite securing a new minivan and nearly $3 billion in investment since signing its last contract with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Unifor officials in Windsor say there is still a lot to fight for. 

Unifor is targeting FCA next in its ongoing contract negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers following a tentative agreement between the union and General Motors Co. 

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"We are pretty enthusiastic about getting to the table and getting things done, we're happy to be the next group on deck," said Dino Chiodo, the president of Unifor Local 444. 

In 2015, FCA spent billions retooling its Windsor Assembly Plant. That paved the way for the launch of the Pacifica earlier this year. Though company officials have promised to keep that platform alive for nearly a decade, Chiodo says nothing is certain. 

Unifor is looking for a signed commitment from FCA that any next generation minivans would be built in Windsor, Chiodo said. 

"Although we might be secure today, what happens in three, four, five years? There's no other product scheduled for Windsor at this point," he said. "Technically we will still be producing the Pacifica and the Dodge Grand Caravan but what happens after that we don't know." 

But Chiodo said Unifor would also make sure FCA guarantees future work for its plants in Brampton, Ont. and Etobicoke, Ont. 

"We need some big dollars in order to make sure we can keep [those facilities] right here in Ontario," Chiodo said. "This is an opportunity for us [in Windsor] to support their needs."   

Fiat-Chrysler employs 9,750 Unifor union members, including:

• 3,300 at its Brampton assembly plant, where the Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger are built.

• 6,000 members at its Windsor plant, which makes the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica.

• 450 at its Etobicoke, casting plant

Late Monday, Unifor and GM reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year deal covering 3,900 workers. Those Unifor members will vote Sunday on the deal, with results to be released that evening.