Frustrated union threatens plant takeover as Minister Joly meets with CAMI autoworkers

The head of the union representing workers at the General Motors CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., said his members will "take over" the facility if the company tries to move any vehicles out of the plant.

"We will physically take the plant," said Unifor local 88 plant chairperson Mike Van Boekel on Wednesday.

Van Boekel made the comments after the union, along with Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie, met with federal Industry Minister Mélanie Joly in Ingersoll Tuesday for an update on the status of negotiations with GM about the plant's future.

Van Boekel said although no concrete updates came from the meeting, he's hopeful there will be a solution that will allow the plant to resume operating and its 1,200 workers to return to the job.

"I'll say they're making progress," Van Boekel told CBC News on Wednesday.

"[Joly] said the talks [with GM] are going good," he said. "I can't release too many details but she said talks are moving along so ... I mean you're talking a billion dollars or more so these decisions aren't made in two weeks. But we want to keep the communication going between the parties."

CBC News reached out to Joly's office for comment but did not receive a response as of Wednesday.

Uncertainty has clouded the plant's future since GM announced last month they would stop the plant's production of the electric-powered BrightDrop delivery van.

Work at the plant was first halted in the April. At the time, GM said they planned to resume production in the fall, before announcing on Oct. 21 the plant would stop BrightDrop production for good due to low customer demand.

On Oct. 23, Joly gave GM 15 days to provide plans for "next steps" for the plant, but that deadline has passed with no concrete updates.

In a statement sent to CBC News on Wednesday, GM said the plant "is being assessed for future opportunities" but didn't provide further details. The statement said GM is committed to Canada.

"These are complex discussions, and we need to invest the time necessary for collaboration that will deliver better outcomes for our people, our communities and our customers," the statement said.

Unifor Local 88 had planned to hold an online question and answer session with its members on Wednesday, but Van Boekel said that meeting has been postponed until early next week.

The union does plan to meet with Unifor on Thursday to address outstanding issues related to ongoing support payments to workers.