AUTOS

Canadian Auto Union Targets Chrysler: The Canadian Auto Workers union named Chrysler Corp. as its strike target if a new labor agreement cannot be reached by Sept. 17. The move virtually assures that the United Auto Workers union in Detroit will pick General Motors Corp. or Ford Motor Co. as the lead company to hammer out a new contract in the United States. In a surprise move last week, the 415,000-member UAW postponed picking a target, saying that negotiations with the three companies were advancing. UAW President Steve Yokich has since met with all the Big Three chief executives, and a union source said GM and Ford have shown more flexibility than Chrysler in addressing the union’s demands. The main contract issues in both the U.S. and Canada are job security and outsourcing, or contracting work to outside, nonunion firms. A strike is considered unlikely in the U.S. but could occur in Canada, especially against GM, which wants to sell two parts plants and cut jobs.