The Mine Mill Local 598/CAW members will be able to choose from three meetings taking place at 11 a.m. and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel.
The union's three-year deal with Xstrata Nickel expires at midnight Jan. 31. The two sides have been bargaining since Dec. 14.
Local 598 president Richard Paquin said the union and Xstrata are “still talking every day” and there have been slight advances made on language issues, although the parties haven't yet tackled monetary issues.
He said he doesn't want to reveal the specifics of the negotiations.
“It's still pretty cordial and easygoing,” Paquin said. “I think we're progressing. That's the good news.”
He said he's confident he's going to get a deal, “and so are our members.”
During the last set of negotiations in 2010, a deal wasn't reached until the early morning hours of Feb. 1, a few hours after the contract expired. In the end, Local 598 was able to negotiate a contract without any concessions.
The 2010 negotiations were held in the middle of Steelworkers Local 6500's year-long strike against Vale. Local 6500 now has a deal with Vale that doesn't expire until May 31, 2015.
Local 598 went on strike twice in the early 2000s — six and a half months in 2000 and three weeks in 2004 — when the company was still owned by Falconbridge.
However, since Xstrata bought out Falconbridge in 2006, Local 598 has negotiated two contracts in a row without going on strike.
Representatives of Xstrata weren't immediately available for comment.
