U.S. General Motors strike to have an impact on Canadian workers including those in St. Catharines

It could be the biggest auto strike in more than a decade. Nearly 50,000 workers at General Motors plan to strike across the US before midnight.

While it’s still possible that bargainers could return to the table and hammer out an agreement, a union spokesman says it’s unlikely. And an official with the local union at the GM plant in St. Catharines says a strike will have an immediate effect on workers there.

The strike would be the first for GM workers since a two-day work stoppage in 2007 when about 200 plant-level union leaders voted unanimously in favour of a walkout during a meeting this morning in Detroit.

Union leaders say the sides were still far apart on several major issues including wages. Talks between the union and GM were tense from the start, largely because GM plans to close four US factories, including the one in Detroit.