Officials and workers at an automotive production plant in Lakeshore, Ont., continue to talk on Thursday as a strike deadline approaches.

The Johnson Controls plant's 125 unionized employees have said they'll go on strike at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday if they don't reach a collective agreement.

Job security is the key issue, according to Dino Chiodo, the first vice-president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 444, which represents the workers.

'We don't want to disrupt anything.'—Dino Chiodo, CAW Local 444

"We want to maintain the opportunity to have work available for all the members in our facility, and maintain what we have currently," Chiodo said.

The Johnson Controls plant assembles overhead systems for the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country, and ships them to Chrysler's minivan assembly plant in Windsor. So what the plant does "directly affects the production" there, Chiodo said.

"We don't want to disrupt anything," he added. "So as long as [management is] willing to talk, I'm willing to figure out what we can do to make sure this all works for everybody."

Talks began Monday and have shown progress, Chiodo said.

Fourth-quarter results for the plant's parent company, Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls Inc., were much lower in 2009 than in 2008, according to online company reports. Sales dropped 15 per cent, from $9.3 billion US in 2008 to $7.9 billion in 2009. Gross profits also dropped, by 12 per cent, from $1.4 billion to $1.1 billion.

The company has been forced to look for new ways to save money, Chiodo said.