DETROIT, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Two automakers in Detroit agreed to extend the contract that expired Wednesday night and a third may be close to a new contract, the Detroit Free Press said.
The United Auto Workers' four-year contract expired at one minute before midnight.
It was unlikely Chrysler Group LLC would comes to terms with the United Auto Workers, the newspaper said. Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a letter to UAW President Bob King he was prepared to bargain Wednesday night but he said King didn't come to the table.
Marchionne interrupted a stop in Frankfurt, Germany, to travel to Detroit for the final contract talks, the report said. Marchionne said he would not be in the country for the next week but said he would agree to extend the terms of the old contract for a week.
King was taking part in talks with General Motors Co., where negotiators were working toward a deal, the Free Press reported, citing a person familiar with the situation.
The 2007 contract that expired Wednesday night covered about 72,000 GM and Chrysler workers.
The UAW had previously agreed to extend the deadline for a contract covering about 40,6000 workers at Ford Motor Co.
