Navistar International’s truck plant in Chatham, Ontario, remained closed Wednesday after the company decided for a second day not to bring in replacements for striking workers.

Only a few plant managers and supervisors were called, according to company spokesman Roy Wiley. He said there are no plans to bring in replacement workers on Thursday. Beyond that he said the company is examining the situation on a “day-by-day basis.”
The move follows an incident on Monday in which members of the Canadian Auto Workers union were hit by a bus transporting replacement workers. One of the men was hurt critically, suffering from broken bones and internal injuries. At last report he was listed in critical condition at a nearby hospital. The two other men had non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the bus has been charged with three counts of dangerous driving.
Last week Navistar attempted to bring in the replacements for the more than 600 striking workers at the plant who are protesting the company’s decision to implement a series of cost-cutting moves.
Each day strikers stopped a bus from travelling from a meeting point to the plant despite a court order Navistar obtained last week to prohibit protestors at the plant. However, picketers managed to set up roadblocks leading to the plant, with local police advising the company to turn back the replacement workers.
The CAW has threatened to turn up the heat on Navistar by calling union workers from other nearby auto-related assembly lines to help boost the protestors numbers against Navistar, leading some to speculate that the government may have to intervene.
They have also gotten a boost of support from the 2.5 million members of the Canadian Labor Congress, which passed a statement of support for the Navistar strikers earlier in the week.
In the meantime, Navistar has transferred production at the Chatham plant to a facility in Mexico.