Stellantis Workers Vote 97% for a Strike Mandate — With No Legal Strike Position Yet
Stellantis workers in Ontario represented by Unifor voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike mandate, as collective bargaining negotiations remain stalled. Unifor represents more than 9,000 Stellantis workers in Canada.
The union says it is not in a legal strike position at this time, because neither side has requested a No Board report — one of the steps labour law requires before job action. A key sticking point has been uncertainty around the Brampton factory, and Stellantis recently said it planned to sell the property to defence contractor Roshel.
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Local 444 president James Stewart framed the result as leverage rather than appetite for a walkout — a vote north of 97 per cent across the workplaces, in his words, sends a message of unity and strength. The union itself has said any strike involving these Ontario workers remains a last resort, which is a strange thing to say while holding a 97 per cent mandate.
A mandate is a bargaining chip, not a countdown: without the No Board report, the union can't legally walk out anyway, so the vote's value is mostly at the table. And the table is really about Brampton, where Stellantis has said it plans to sell the plant site to a defence contractor — that's the question the percentage is aimed at.