Negotiations to keep Nemak's plant in Windsor open beyond the middle of next year have broken off.
Unifor Local 200 President John D'Agnolo confirmed it to BlackburnNews.com Friday morning.
"You never know in bargaining. You always have that hope that they would look at it differently, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case," D'Agnolo said.
He said there was no common ground.
The two sides will meet with an arbitrator next on October 15.
Unifor agreed to end a blockade at the Windsor facility last month. It launched it Labour Day, arguing Nemak had broken its collective agreement with the workers to keep the plant open until 2022. The workers had agreed to a pay cut, and the union pointed out the plant had benefitted from millions of dollars in government grants.
A Windsor judge and the Ontario Labour Relations Board ordered the union to cease, but it only relented when Nemak agreed to its demands for new talks and an expedited arbitration process.
"We feel we have a strong case. Hopefully, the decision goes our way, and we keep the work here in Windsor," said D'Agnolo.
The two sides also agreed the arbitrators ruling would be binding, but D'Agnolo admitted he had nagging doubts the company would follow through.
"If we win, they will abide by that arbitration ruling," he said. "I hope they abide by that after we both signed an agreement. If they don't, then there will be a huge issue."