Historic Labor Dispute Reaches 100-Day Milestone
Windsor's Titan Tool and Die labor dispute has reached a grim milestone, surpassing the infamous 99-day Ford strike of 1945 to become the longest automotive labor action in the city's history. The lockout, which began on August 11, 2025, has now entered its 100th day, matching and exceeding the 101-day strike by City of Windsor workers in 2009 that left the municipality struggling with closed facilities and overflowing garbage.
National Union Leader Joins Escalating Protests
Unifor's national president Lana Payne joined the remaining 27 locked-out Titan Tool employees on the picket line Tuesday, November 18, 2025, helping to escalate their protest campaign citywide. Payne delivered fiery remarks to workers and supporters before leading a caravan of honking vehicles through Windsor streets, with police providing escorts as the protest disrupted traffic and drew public attention.
"We have to send a message, not just to Titan Tool, but to every single employer in this country," declared Payne. "You don't get to act like this. We're not going to roll over. We're going to continue to fight back."
The union leader emphasized that Unifor would explore all available resources, including labor board interventions, to resolve the dispute. While expressing hope that the lockout wouldn't continue for another 100 days, Payne acknowledged the workers' remarkable resolve and determination.
Contract Negotiations Hit Impasse
The labor dispute began when contract negotiations stalled after several weeks of bargaining. The workers' collective agreement had expired at the end of July, and the company implemented the lockout on August 11 when talks reached another impasse.
Unifor Local 195 president Emile Nabbout, who represents the locked-out Titan Tool workers, expressed outrage at the company's actions. "This shameful employer locked out our members for no good reason," Nabbout stated. "This management is not going to defeat the spirit of those workers."
Nabbout reassured workers that the union would continue supporting them, emphasizing that Canada's largest private-sector union would not allow management to defeat workers through deprivation of income.
Titan Tool and Die representatives did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday as the protests escalated. The company's silence has further frustrated workers who have now spent more than three months without pay or resolution to the labor dispute that shows no signs of immediate conclusion.
