Unifor 'prepared for inevitable' as GM strike deadline draws near

TORONTO - Contact talks continued into the final hour ahead of strike deadline late Monday between the union that represents auto workers and General Motors.

Denise Hammond, a spokeswoman for Unifor, said a "few issues remain outstanding" and that both sides are committed to keep talking.

"We feel that we are close," said Hammond, adding a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. ET "remains active."

A key sticking point is the union's request to secure more work for the 4,000 GM employees it represents in Ontario.

Unifor said Monday night that its bargaining committee was hopeful a deal would be reached by the deadline.

The union, which represents about 23,000 auto workers overall in Canada, selected GM as its target company in the opening round of contract discussions with the so-called Detroit Three automakers.

Unifor said Monday that a number of issues remained outstanding in negotiations with the company.

"There are, however, matters for the union that remain unresolved. We are waiting for the company to respond at this moment," Hammond told a news conference.

"We are bargaining on every one of our key priorities, including our top priority - seeking commitments for products and investment."

Unifor said any deal reached with GM would serve as a template for negotiations with the other two automakers, Ford and Fiat Chrysler.

Going into the discussions, union president Jerry Dias said he was aware negotiations with GM would be tough - but that was precisely why the company was chosen.

A focal point of the negotiations was securing more work at GM's plant in Oshawa, Ont., where the company employs 2,500 unionized workers.

One of the plant's two assembly lines makes the Chevrolet Equinox, but production is scheduled to halt next year. The facility's other assembly line, which produces the Chevrolet Impala, the Buick Regal and the Cadillac XTS, has no vehicles scheduled past 2019.

GM has said it wouldn't make any commitments on investing in its Canadian operations or allocating any new products to its Oshawa plant until after an agreement with the union was ratified.

Dias has said the union would not agree to any contract that didn't guarantee more work for its workers in Oshawa and further investment in GM facilities overall.

Members of the union voted last month in favour of strike action to back their contract proposals, which in addition to securing more work include wage increases.