Navistar Closes Plant After Incident

Navistar International Corp.’s Chatham, Ontario factory was closed Tuesday, after Monday’s incident when six members of the striking Canadian Auto Workers union were struck by a van driven by security guards outside the facility, the Windsor Star reported.

It was not known if the plant would remain closed, the Star said.

Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley, spokesman for Navistar said no temporary workers were brought in Tuesday and that future decisions about their use were being made on a “day-to-day” basis.

Monday morning, a van struck and injured three members of the CAW picket line, the Windsor (Ontario) Star reported. One striker was critically injured and had to be airlifted to the hospital for emergency surgery to reconnect his pelvis, repair some soft tissue damage and control internal bleeding, the paper said.

The union remained committed to keeping replacement workers out of the plant, spokesman Bob Chernecki told Transport Topics. Chernecki confirmed that no members of Navistar’s management nor any replacement workers tried to enter the plant.

Wiley told Transport Topics that a decision about whether to attempt to use replacement workers Wednesday would be made sometime Tuesday evening.

The strike which began June 1 became more heated when management said it would use replacement workers.

Wiley told the Star that management and office staff have been able to produce 12 trucks since the strike began, compared to a normal production rate of 39 a day.

Navistar has threatened to close the plant if workers refuse to accept pay cuts.