A Windsor judge has upheld a court ruling against Unifor in the ongoing drama over Nemak.
Superior Court Justice Terrence Patterson has found Unifor President Jerry Dias, Local 200 President John D'Agnolo, local Vice-President Tim Little and Nemak plant chairman Mike Jobin in contempt of court, after the union defied a previous order upholding the Ontario Labour Relations Board's (OLRB) ruling to end the blockade and resume production at the Nemak plant.
Patterson then ruled that Unifor will face a $75,000 fine directly, and the barricade is to be removed by midnight Saturday to ensure that everything is set for production to resume late Sunday night. If the union fails to comply, Local 200 will face a $10,000 fine for each day, along with $1,000-per-day fines for each of the four individuals identified.
D'Agnolo told reporters outside court on Friday evening that he will respect Patterson's decision, and a meeting to discuss next steps is due to take place on Saturday. He did express the feelings of some in the federal government about the probability of moving the plant's workload to Mexico.
"They've [the federal government] made it clear that they think the work should stay in Canada," said D'Agnolo. "I have not heard anything from the Ontario government, and that's disappointing, to be quite frank with you because these are Ontario jobs. And, I have not heard a word from Doug Ford."
Brad Botrous, Windsor plant manager for Nemak, said his personal connection with many of the plant's employees was a driving factor of the plant management not forcing their way into the building to resume production.
"I know them. I know their families," said Botrous. "The last thing we're going to do is cause some type of incident that would put any of their safety at risk. That is not acceptable to anyone at the highest levels of Nemak and below, so that's just not an interest of ours."
Nemak lawyer David Sundin had argued for the union to receive a $250,000 fine, while Unifor lawyer Anthony Dale had suggested a much lesser fine, or a large donation to a charity, based on the fact that the protests have been peaceful.
Union members had been barricading the plant since Labour Day in an effort to force Nemak to agree to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, in which Nemak agreed to keep the plant open through at least 2022 in exchange for across-the-board wage concessions.
Nemak announced earlier this summer they were closing the plant next year. Patterson suggested in court that he was not in a position to rule on the content of the collective bargaining agreement between the company and the union. However, the justice said the blockade was the equivalent of an illegal strike.
---with files from Maureen Revait
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