CAW‘S HARGROVE CONFIDENT DEAL WITH CHRYSLER IMMINENT

DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, and the Canadian Auto Workers may agree on a new contract as early as today after progress in weekend talks, union president Buzz Hargrove said. The union leader said at a news conference that Chrysler dropped a plan to close a Toronto casting plant and that “I’m more optimistic today that we can avoid a strike here.” CAW members at Ford Motor Co. ratified a three-year contract over the weekend, and General Motors Corp., which is next in negotiations, is resisting terms similar to what Ford agreed to, he said. Chrysler, which faces a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. today, wants to cut jobs at Ontario vehicle factories in Brampton and Windsor, the union said last week. The automaker has not yet made a financial proposal on wages and benefits, and still must resolve issues in plant- level talks, Mr. Hargrove said. After wrapping up the Chrysler negotiations, the union plans to set a strike deadline for sometime next week at GM, which is “headed for a shutdown” if it doesn’t follow basic terms of the new Ford contract, Mr. Hargrove said in Toronto. Stew Low, a spokesman for GM’s Canadian unit, did not immediately respond to telephone messages seeking a comment. Union members at Ford this weekend ratified the new contract, which calls for cutting 1,100 jobs, or 8.8% of the CAW’s Ford membership.