Unifor President Jerry Dias told hundreds of people at a rally Thursday that no court proceedings will make them back down from Nemak.
Unifor members gather at a rally in support of Nemak employees, September 12, 2019. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
A Superior Court judge gave the union and Nemak until 2 p.m. on Friday to resolve their differences before he moves forward with the contempt proceedings.
Dias said no amount of fines against the union or individuals will make them back down.
He had this message to Nemak officials during the rally on Booth Dr. Thursday morning:
"You can take us to court, you can get injunctions, you can use any legal process that you would like to use in order to have the courts do your dirty work for you. But I'm telling you, and you better understand our organization and our union well, there's one place that this issue will get resolved and that's at the bargaining table," said Dias.
The union has claimed the company broke the terms of their agreement to continue operating until 2022 in return for a wage freeze for all employees.
Nemak officials announced in July that they cannot operate until 2022 based on current volumes at the plant and they plan to shut down next year.
"In good faith, Nemak provided notice to the union as early as possible, giving a one-year notification to help our people prepare for this difficult transition, instead of the 60 days notification period defined in the collective agreement. Nemak has and will continue to fully abide by the collective agreement," the company said in a news release Thursday.
Dias told reporters he's not worried the company will pack up shop before July.
"We need to get Nemak's attention. And I'd rather get their attention when they are servicing their customer such as General Motors who I would expect are demanding Nemak to live up to their commitments," said Dias.
Both sides said they are willing to meet but no talks are scheduled at this time.
