Now an Ontario Superior Court judge will determine on Friday whether workers will be required to stand down.

"GM informed SKD Automive they were coming to pick up their (equipment), said Dave Hall, chairman of the CAW unit at SKD on Holtby Avenue, near McLaughlin Road. "Our people blockaded the area, had them take the equipment off the truck and had the trucks leave the facility."

Financial difficulties at SKD prompted GM to scrap its contracts with the firm in late December.

GM then sent moving trucks to Brampton to remove the equipment that makes parts for vehicles assembled in the U.S.

However, as GM attempted to remove the tooling, union members blockaded the plant.

Since then, GM has tried twice to get an injunction to allow it to remove the equipment.

An Ontario Superior Court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Friday.

"They've tried (to get the equipment out) but have failed so far," Hall said.

The parts company produces stamped metal components like floor pans, speaker brackets and control arms.

In addition to GM, SKD's 140 employees manufacture parts for Ford, Honda and Chrysler, which operates a vehicle assembly in Brampton.

And like other assembly operations across the continent, SKD faces serious financial difficulty due to the current crisis choking the auto industry.

Calls to GM Canada and SKD's head office in Michigan were not returned as of The Guardian's press time. Leading up to Christmas, Hall said there were rumors circulating the plant about SKD possibly going bankrupt.

However, he said management made no such statements and continued to conduct "business as usual."

So it was a surprise when GM suddenly showed up with flatbed trucks to move the tooling, Hall said.

On Wednesday, workers huddled inside a mobile trailer parked in front of SKD as heavy snow fell outside. Among those blockading the entrance to the plant was Manuel Rodrigues, an employee of SKD since 1971.

"It's sad to see this happen," said Rodrigues, 62, who lives not too far from the factory. "I know the economy is bad all over the place but to see it close would be very disappointing."

Also disappointing for employees is the way in which the whole situation unfolded.

Clive Golding, an 11-year veteran of SKD, said it was unfair of the company to leave employees in the dark.

"The way the went about doing the whole process was wrong," Golding charged. "I know they are going through hard times and it would have been better to come to us and say 'here is what is happening'. They went behind our backs trying to move stuff and bring people in to do what is in their best interest."

Hall said union members will wait until at least to the end of the week before deciding what to do next. SKD has reached a deal with other customers on earlier this week that gave it three days to come up with new financing, he said.

"As is it stands right now, Honda, Ford and Chrysler are trying to come up with an accommodation agreement with SKD for us to continue to operate," Hall told The Guardian.

Without an agreement, SKD could close for good, Hall conceded.

"If the place ends up closing down, we don't have any control over that and we can live with that," Hall continued. "But we can't live with the fact that we got people with 37 years seniority here and these people are going to walk away with nothing? It's absolutely disgusting that we got people with 37 years and these people were going to slip away and screw everybody."

SKD Automotive was founded in Windsor in 1937 and in addition to Brampton has operations in Mississauga, Milton, Michigan and Mexico.