http://www.wnem.com/money/18343458/detail.htmlRon Gettelfinger May Not Be Able To Hold Off Wage And Benefit Cuts As He Hammers Out A Restructuring With GM Execs
If General Motors (GM) and Chrysler executives want federal loans beyond the initial $17.4 billion provided by President Bush and the Treasury Dept. on Dec. 19, they will need to wring concessions from the United Auto Workers. And that means dealing with Ron Gettelfinger.
As became clear in mid-December, Gettelfinger, the 64-year-old union president, is no pushover. With the fate of an industry hanging in the balance, he refused to back down when Senator Bob Corker
demanded that the UAW commit to cutting wages to secure a bailout of Detroit's Big Three. Gettelfinger's stance -- critics call it intransigence -- pushed a government rescue to the brink until the Bush Administration stepped in.
But even after the Administration released funds for GM and Chrysler, Gettelfinger bristled at the labor concessions that Treasury is insisting on. In response to the Administration's demands for wage and benefits cuts, he said: "We are disappointed that he has added unfair conditions singling out workers." Gettlefinger even said he would go to the Obama Administration -- which promises to be more labor-friendly -- to work out a deal.
Push from Bush
That sets the stage for negotiations beginning in earnest in January with management at GM and Chrysler as the union and the carmakers try to craft a restructuring plan. Gettelfinger and his staff will first face off against a team headed by GM President Fritz Henderson.
The Bush Administration has already laid out some concessions that it wants from the union. The plan closely mirrors what Senator Corker wanted Gettelfinger to agree to in advance of getting any government money. In documents spelling out the loan terms, Treasury asked to close down the JOBS bank -- an anachronism that keeps UAW workers on the payroll even when they aren't working -- and make UAW wages, benefits, and plant floor work rules competitive with those of foreign-owned factories in the U.S. by the end of 2009. The union also must take company stock instead of cash for half of the money that car companies pledged to finance a health-care trust.
The talks themselves are historic: The most powerful industrial union in America will be asked to reopen its contract to ensure the survival of the automakers. And Gettelfinger himself will be walking a tightrope.
FULL story at link.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
