It came down right to the wire, but a tentative deal has been reached between Unifor Local 195 and Gates Canada Windsor.
180 full and part time workers were set to work off the job at 12:01 Wednesday morning to back contract demands but according to Local 195 President Emile Nabbout, the two sides were able to reach an 'acceptable tentative agreement' prior to the deadline.
He says talks have been challenging.
"We have been in bargaining for quite a while and both parties were taking a hard stand on money issues but the union is happy that we were able to avert a strike that was suppose to take place at 12:01 this morning," he says. "The company and the union finally were able to manage to reach a mutually agreed and acceptable agreement that need to be ratified by our members this coming weekend."
Nabbout says his members expectations were high due to money and economic challenges.
"The employer was kind of holding back but at the end of the day, we were able to find a mutual solution where the company continues to producing a product and our members have the opportunity to make an additional gain," says Nabbout.
Nabbout says a ratification meeting is set for Saturday.
Gates Canada Windsor is located on St Etienne Blvd.
The workers at the plant do pulleys for the automotive sector and for John Deere.