More than 150 people on strike at Tillsonburg auto parts plant

More than 100 employees at a Tillsonburg auto parts plant are on strike for the first time in the plant's 40-year history.

Unifor members hit the picket lines overnight at THK Rhythm Automotive.

Central issues are wages, pensions and benefits.

Tillsonburg Unifor Local 1859 president Lorraine Sinclair says employees gave a strong strike mandate.

“We had a 78 per cent strike vote. I think we had 138 people there out of 156.”

With the vote, John and Jamie Opdecam are now walking the picket lines.

The Tillsonburg couple met at THK over 20 years ago. At the time it was TRW, and a great place to work, according to John.

“They treated us like family back then, but things started to change in the last 15 years,” he said.John and Jamie Opdecam met at THK over 20 years ago. They have two children and say a strike at the auto parts maker is necessary to improve wages and benefits, April 25, 2022. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)

TRW’s union plant chair Elaine Kamenar says the changes included claw backs and concessions, especially during the 2008 economic downtown.

Kamenar says wages are a significant concern but healthcare and retirement planning remain a top priority.

“Better benefits, our benefits are really low. We want to see better pensions. We need way better pensions,” she said.Back on the line, Jamie Opdecam says a $1,200 cap on all benefits does not get very far for her family of four.

“It can be very stressful. I mean one dentist appointment can use up your whole benefits, and you have nothing left for the year. Then it’s all out of pocket,” she added.

The strike here comes less than six months after the province committed $1-million to THK’s $27-million expansion, which has just begun construction. At the time, company officials told CTV News London the addition would create 65 jobs.

But the union contends most new hires are not staying on, given a low starting wage.

The union says production workers at THK make between $17.68 to over $25 an hour on a two-tier wage system.

A sign-out front for the employee entrance at THK in Tillsonburg, Ont. has been covered by a Unifor flag, April 25, 2022. (Sean Irvine / CTV News)Both Kamenar and John Opdecam say it is not enough, as inflation pressures mount and say, “With the way inflation has been it seems like we’re stepping backwards, instead of forwards.”

There are no new talks scheduled between the company and the union.

Meanwhile, tensions on the line have already been tense. Security guards are visible at all plant entrances.

At one point, a coach bus appeared near the plant, stopped, and a few minutes later moved on. Picketers contend it contained replacement workers.

CTV News reached out to Tillsonburg THK Plant Manager Marnie Kent for confirmation and to learn more from her firm.

But she stated over the telephone that the company is not “commenting to the media.”