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Unifor extends contract talks with General Motors past strike deadline

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TORONTO — The union representing Canadian workers at General Motors says its bargaining committee has decided to continue its contract talks with the company pasts the strike deadline.

Unifor had set a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday to reach a new, three-year labour deal and encouraged members to be prepared to strike if needed.

But the union said just before the deadline that its master bargaining committee was ready to negotiate all night to avoid a work stoppage.

Any proposed deal to come out of the negotiations would need to be approved by GM's 4,100 union members, who are scheduled to vote on Sunday.

The union said Wednesday afternoon that executives from the Detroit automaker came to Canada this week for face-to-face discussions as bargaining heated up.

Unifor national president Jerry Dias is expected to give more information about negotiations at a news conference at 10 a.m. ET.

Ahead of its deadline, the union said the company had not offered concrete commitments on future product plans, and was falling short of earlier agreements struck by Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2020

The Canadian Press

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