CAW officials in Oshawa, Ont., say they're concerned General Motors may pull out of Canada entirely. (Canadian Press)

Leaders of the Canadian Auto Workers union are using increasingly conciliatory language as they await word from General Motors on the fate of the company's Canadian operations.

CAW Local 222 president Chris Buckley says he's concerned the company may pull out of Canada entirely, which would affect about 12,000 workers and hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs.

Buckley says he's concerned GM may escalate its Canadian cutbacks after the company's board of directors wrap up a meeting in Detroit on Tuesday.

He also says it doesn't bode well that estimated U.S. auto sales figures released Monday showed a 39 per cent drop for GM, making it 14 consecutive months that sales are down.

Buckley says he wants to speak with GM officials as soon as possible to pass on that the union is willing to be part of the solution.

The union is continuing to press the federal government to supply GM with guaranteed loans, as long as they're conditional on the company maintaining operations in Canada.

"As a union it makes no sense to ignore this crisis, we understand this is a terrible situation and if we choose to ignore this crisis, there's a possibility General Motors would pull out of Canada," Buckley said in an interview.

"We're not about to give them a reason to pull out of Canada."

'We haven't closed the door on anything'

While Buckley was once hard-nosed and tough talking in seeking demands from Detroit's Big Three automakers, he has been forced to soften his stance in light of the current economic climate.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement has also said automakers should be reducing labour costs to make the Canadian auto industry more competitive.

"We haven't closed the door on anything just yet," Buckley said of the concessions the union is willing to make.

The union is now waiting for the phone to ring so they can advance talks with GM.

"At this point, I can tell you if we choose to ignore this crisis, it will put us in a very difficult position as far as [GM] having a Canadian presence," he said.

"I would suspect after their board meeting they'll have their restructuring plan put in place, and hopefully Canada's a part of it."