Province opens employment aid clinic for Windsor FCA third shift auto workers
The centre will remain open until the end of 2021
The provincial government and the auto workers union local have launched an employment aid centre for Windsor workers unemployed by the layoffs at Fiat Chrysler this year.
During a news conference Friday, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton officially opened the centre, located in the basement of Unifor Hall in Windsor. The government contributed more than $210,000 and FCA, along with some feeder plants, matched the funding, allowing $440,000 for the centre to operate.
The service seeks to help the 800 workers that were laid off from the third shift at FCA in July. It will assist them in looking for a new job, writing resumes or cover letters and even give them food, if needed.
"The goal is to ensure that anyone who is out of work today can get the training necessary and find jobs as quickly as possible," McNaughton said.
President of Unifor Local 444 Dave Cassidy, who represents the laid off auto workers, said he's thankful for the funding and support to get people back into the workforce.
"It's a good evil, it's a good story that we can have this action centre for our laid off people but unfortunately we've lost the third shift and this will be a stop gap until we get that third shift back," he said.
At this time, the centre is operating virtually and over the phone. As of Friday, 40 people had already sought help.
The centre will be open until November 2021.