The union representing almost 3,000 striking workers at Ingersoll's CAMI plant is reaching out to General Motors in hopes of resuming contract talks.
Unifor Local 88 Chair Mike Van Boekel told BlackburnNews.com on Wednesday that the heads of the union met with Unifor National representatives, as well as their bargaining committee this week.
"We've come up with some new ideas and concepts... and we're going to reach out to the company and see if we can get them back to the table," he said. "We're ready to meet at anytime, but we're not going to meet unless they give us a piece of paper that's signed and entrusts that our trucks aren't going anywhere, and that we have jobs for the next few years."
The letter would mean GM would not be able to move assembly of the Equinox to Mexico, as it did with the Terrain sport utility vehicle in July, costing 600 positions at CAMI. The Chevrolet Equinox is the only vehicle currently being produced at CAMI.
"The ball is in their court," said Van Boekel. "They sign that letter, I believe we can get the contract wrapped up in two, three or four days."
The 2,800 CAMI workers, represented by Unifor, went on strike at 11pm on Sunday after their union and General Motors failed to reach a tentative agreement.
The three major contract issues for workers at the plant are job security, economics, and contract language. The union says it has found no common ground on those issues at this time.
-With files from Miranda Chant