Negotiators at Allison Transmission Inc. and a union representing 1,500 of its workers gave themselves another week to hammer out details of a labor agreement after the initial Wednesday deadline passed with no deal.
In a statement sent just before 1 a.m. Thursday, company spokeswoman Melissa Sauer said negotiators extended existing, five-year contracts until noon Nov. 21.
The late-night agreement should buy the two parties time before a potential walkout. The collective bargaining agreements signed in 2007 were to have expired at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
Leadership at United Auto Workers Local 933 held meetings Monday to update members on the talks and tell them what to do if the union declared a strike.
Contract talks began Sept. 4. A Nov. 6 letter from the union’s negotiating committee chairman indicated broad differences remained between the company’s and union’s proposals.
It is unclear what those differences are.
“Both parties continue to work toward a new labor agreement,” Sauer said in the statement. “However, we will have no further comments regarding these sensitive negotiations.”
Local 933 officers have not responded to messages seeking comment this week.
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