NORMAL - As expected, union workers at Mitsubishi Motors North America were on the job Monday despite no agreement on a new contract with the company. "Everybody is here. We're running the line," said MMNA spokesman Dan Irvin.

That's a positive sign that shows the company and the union are making progress, even if negotiations are stopped for now, agreed a national industry expert and a local labor specialist.

"If they're continuing to work, the union feels that some progress is being made," said Victor Devinatz, professor of management, specializing in labor relations, at Illinois State University in Normal.

Mitsubishi and the United Auto Workers Local 2488 plan to resume contract negotiations after the bargaining committee rejected the company's proposal Saturday - the day after an extended-contract expired - but a time still has not been scheduled, Irvin said.

Irvin declined further comment, and attempts to reach a UAW official in Detroit were unsuccessful.

But if progress hadn't been made, the union would have went out on strike, which would not be advantageous for the company or the union in today's slow economy, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

"Nobody wants a strike. What they're trying to do is find the middle ground," Cole said. "Mitsubishi is in a fragile position. The union understands that."

Still, it's normal for some tension to be part of the process before ratification, Cole said.

Talks have reportedly centered on pay and benefit cuts, as well as a two-tiered wage system - difficult bargaining issues, especially in light of today's economy. The union needs to take some positive news to its 1,261 members, but the company also has to do what it takes to be competitive and keep jobs in place, he said.

"It's get competitive or die," Cole said. "Mitsubishi is not in a real robust shape."

Management may have asked the union for some concessions, which the membership obviously wants to minimize, Devinatz said. Union members know it would be hard to find comparable employment if they lose their jobs at the Normal car plant, but they also want as good of a deal as the company can afford, he said.

Both the company and union have remained tight-lipped on exact contract details, though a UAW statement last weekend mentioned the latest proposal included "drastic cuts."

The base salary for a union production worker is currently $28.57 an hour, or $59,425 annually. Base pay for a union maintenance worker is $33.11 an hour, or $68,868 annually.

That compares to about $28 an hour that the average UAW worker earns, Cole said. A possible two-tier wage system could mean new members would start at half of that salary, he said. Similar systems are already in place at companies including Caterpillar and General Motors.

Nonetheless, both sides want to avoid a work stoppage, so the chance for a strike is fairly slim, Devinatz said.

A walkout could damage the company even more during a time when the auto industry already is in trouble, which could cause even more problems for union members, he said.

Mitsubishi's U.S. sales through August have dropped 22.4 percent, from 93,724 vehicles in 2007 to 72,727 in 2008. The plant is scheduled to build only 56,000 vehicles this year, according to the union Web site.

In the midst of a down automotive industry and declining sales at Mitsubishi, the union does not have a lot of leverage in negotiations, Cole said.

But the company can't push the union so hard that workers would walk anyway, Devinatz said.

"Right now are very tough times," he said.