The third shift at Chrysler's Windsor Assembly Plant has now ended, but the union representing the employees vows that the fight isn't over.
The shift officially came to a close early Friday morning at the plant, and about 1,500 employees have been affected.
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles had announced in March 2019 that the third shift at Windsor Assembly would end in September of last year, due in part to a change in consumer tastes and a decline in minivan sales, namely those of the Chrysler Pacifica, which is built at the plant. Since the original announcement, there were several reprieves as the company received large minivan orders for fleet sales, and the latest drop-dead date for the shift had been this coming Monday.
Plant employees were offered buyout packages this spring. Roughly 700 people have taken buyouts, but Unifor Local 444 has been hoping to bring some third-shift employees to work on one of the other two shifts as the need arises.
A call to Local 444 by Blackburn News was not immediately returned. However, local president Dave Cassidy noted on the union's official Facebook page that it would continue to battle for jobs.
"Those of you who will be laid off because of the shortsighted thinking of this company, you will not be forgotten, you will not be left behind," said Cassidy. "We will get you back."
Cassidy also praised the third-shift workers for their commitment during a tumultuous time and noted the distinct culture of the midnight shift.
"Our midnight members are a unique tribe that has a work culture inherent to their shift. It has always been my belief that the bonds forged with one another on the midnight shift were most often the strongest," said Cassidy. "Many of you have spent most of your career on the midnight shift, which speaks loudly to the connection you all share."
Since the union was first notified last spring of the loss of the third shift, it had been lobbying FCA for a new product to keep the employees working. The automaker has phased out the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan but had announced that the Chrysler Voyager, an affordable version of the Pacifica, would eventually take its place.