Unifor ordered to end blockade of Windsor factory

A judge has granted an injunction for Futura, seeing picketers move from the entrances and exits at Futura Tool and Die.

Unifor Local 195 members have been barricading the entrance and exits of Futura Tool and Die since mid-September.

It’s another step in a battle that started back in the spring.

In March, union members blocked a transport from leaving Titan Tool and Die’s main gates in April after they learned the company moved equipment across the border.

Lawyers for Titan argued for and received a Superior court injunction preventing the union from further delaying trucks in April.

Then in mid-August, after contract talks failed, Titan locked the workers out.

By mid-September, Unifor National staged a noisy rally in support of Titan workers.

Tempers flared afterwards, when Unifor members walked to Titan’s subsidiary, Futura Tool and Die.

It’s not unionized and Unifor alleges the company is shifting production from Titan to Futura.

Since that day, Unifor has been preventing trucks from leaving Futura day and night.

On Sept. 23, Titan’s lawyers returned to court and asked for an expanded injunction to 2801 Howard Avenue (Titan secondary exit) as well as 305 Charles Street (Futura).

They said further delays in moving products would cause irreparable damage to their business.

On Oct. 1, Justice Jasminka Kalajdzic ruled in favour of Titan.

“The evidentiary record shows that the respondents (Unifor) engaged in unlawful obstruction of Titan’s premises and Futura’s premises,” Justice Kalajdzic wrote in her decision.

“Numerous cases have made clear that picketers are not permitted to obstruct entry or exit from the property of their employers, let alone that of third parties.”

Justice Kalajdzic says her order does not prohibit picketing that leads to “reasonable inconvenience and delay caused by the respondents (Unifor) communicating information.”

CTV News has reached out to Unifor and Titan for reaction.