UAW, GM in talks; GM closes Canada plants

DETROIT, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. talks continued Tuesday as the 2-day-old nationwide U.S. strike by 73,000 GM workers rippled into Canada.

GM Canada closed two car assembly plants in Oshawa, Ontario, near Toronto, idling about 5,600 workers, Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove said.

The U.S. strike halted the flow of key components to the plants.

GM's transmission plant in Windsor, Ontario, near Detroit, closed Monday, shortly after the strike against more than 80 U.S. plants began.

The automaker may close another plant later this week, a GM spokesman said.

GM and UAW representatives in Detroit did not comment on any progress in Tuesday's bargaining.

The strike -- which is estimated to be costing the UAW $14.6 million a week and GM $100 million a day -- came as contract negotiations foundered on a big issue: whether the union, having made significant concessions on healthcare, should get some kind of jobs guarantee from GM, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said.

GM wants control over its manufacturing investments -- including the right to move more production overseas, the Journal said.

It also wants to be able to set lower wages and benefits for newly hired workers and more flexibility to shrink or expand the workforce to meet demand, the newspaper said.