Windsor auto workers block equipment from leaving tool and die plant

A protest is taking place at Titan Tool and Die in Windsor, Ont., seen on March 31, 2025. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor)

A handful of members from Unifor Local 195 blocked the path of a transport at Titan Tool and Die throughout Monday.

“We are not going to allow them to take our jobs to the States,” Sarkis Gaspar Unifor Local 195 representative told CTV News.

According to Gaspar, the automotive parts stamping company intends to move dies to a factory in Michigan.

CTV News Windsor has reached out to Titan Tool & Die for comment but has yet to hear back.

Unifor Local 195 President Emile Nabbout told CTV News, this started on Friday when they received an email from an anonymous source.

According to Nabbout, an American customer of Titan requested their equipment be brought over to a factory in Michigan.

Nabbout said he discussed the unions concerns over the weekend and even said Titan’s plant manager agreed to “pause” moving the equipment until they could find replacement work.

Monday morning, however, Nabbout said one transport truck left the factory with equipment and crossed the border.

Before the second truck could leave, Nabbout said a “skeleton crew” of union members blocked it with an SUV.

“We have to fight for our work,” Nabbout said Monday afternoon.

“This fight is not between us and this employer.”

On Monday evening, Nabbout confirmed Titan had removed the equipment from the truck around 5 p.m., and workers ended their protest.

A handful of members remained on-site to ensure the company stayed true to its word.

Among them was DJ Lacey, a Unifor National representative who oversees Titan Tool & Die.

Lacey said the two sides planned to meet on Monday evening to chart a path forward.

“We’ve taken the stance that we’re not allowing these tariffs to have any impact on any of our jobs,” Lacey told CTV News.

Current collective agreements provide provisions to ensure the equipment can’t simply be moved, Lacey said.

Given the company’s lengthy history, Lacey said a solution is needed to ensure both sides can “prosper” amid U.S. tariffs.

“I’m very hopeful, that the employer will sit down, have a good conversation with us, and, you know, and get to the bottom of this,” Lacey said.

“If this is indeed any indication on how this employer is thinking of their next business move, then I think we need to really hash it out.”

CTV News Windsor has reached out to Titan Tool & Die for comment but has yet to hear back.

Nabbout said the threat from the upcoming tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump has left the union with “no choice” but to push back.

Gaspar said they received information that the equipment on the transport has a “code” related to tariffs on the weigh bill for crossing the border.

“We’re gonna protect our job(s),” Gaspar said, noting if the equipment leaves, he thinks it will shut the factory down.

He does say the company told the union moving the equipment isn’t related to the impending tariffs on Canadian goods, expected to start this week.

Gaspar doesn’t believe the company officials.

“If they are related to tariffs, they are not going to move them,” Gaspar said.

Nabbout said they will continue to take steps to ensure the 20-25 people currently working at Titan remain employed.

There are 40 workers already on layoff, according to Nabbout.

“We have nothing but a fight on our hands,” he said.

Three Windsor Police officers attended the scene, even though it is a peaceful protest by Unifor.