GODERICH, Ont. -- Workers at the Sifto Canada salt mine in Goderich, Ont., are on strike.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union said Monday that nearly 400 workers went on strike just after midnight.
Union spokesman Joe Free said bargaining collapsed with Compass Minerals on Sunday.
He said the company had put parts of an earlier offer back on the table late Sunday night that the union could not accept.
Free said the dispute wasn't about money, but about a loss of union input on some specific conditions.
Goderich Mayor Delbert Shewfelt said the strike was casting a shadow over the town.
"I think with the economy that we're in, it's really unfortunate," he said.
Shewfelt said the mine is the town's largest employer after a number of closures and layoffs in the area.
The workers have been without a contract since the spring.
The last strike at the mine was in 2006.
