BRAMPTON, Ontario (Reuters) - Contracts talks between automaker Chrysler LLC and the Canadian Auto Workers union will start next week, a union official said on Thursday.

Jerry Dias, a national representative of the CAW, told reporters at a Chrysler assembly plant in Brampton that the two sides were working out the final schedule.

"They are going to start next week. They are just nailing it all down," Dias told reporters on the sidelines of an event to mark the manufacturing launch of the Dodge Challenger.

A Chrysler spokeswoman had no comment.

Negotiations between the CAW and the Big Three U.S.-based automakers were not expected to begin until the summer, and wrap up in September when the current three-year contracts expire.

But the union surprised market players last week when it announced it had struck a deal with Ford Motor Co of Canada (F.N: Quote), which was ratified by the company's 8,900 CAW members on Sunday.

Privately held Chrysler, now owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP CBS.UL, employs about 8,000 CAW members at its plants in Ontario.

Last week, Chrysler President Tom LaSorda was quoted as casting some doubt on whether the company would be able to meet the terms of the Ford deal with the CAW