The Canadian Auto Workers is on strike at Navistar’s Chatham, Ontario, heavy truck assembly plant.
To meet order demand, the company is increasing production at its assembly plant in Escobedo, Mexico.
Negotiators for the company and the union were unsuccessful in reaching agreement on a new labor contract before the contract expired at 12:01 EDT June 1.
The action by the CAW's Local 127 affects approximately 800 CAW-represented production and maintenance employees at the International Truck and Engine plant.
Despite the strike action by the CAW, the company said it expects negotiations will resume in an ongoing effort to achieve agreement on a new labor contract.
Negotiations toward a new labor agreement began on April 26. On April 5, a "consideration to close" letter was issued to the CAW. That letter, required under the contract that expired June 1, said that cost reductions totaling $28 million were needed to make the plant competitive and that the company had been able to identify half the amount.
Prior to the strike, production at Chatham had been averaging 39 trucks per day on one shift and the daily production level at Escobedo will be increased to match the Chatham output.