Auto Workers Told to Take Concessions, Abandon Retirees

by Tiffany Ten Eyck

Auto workers from five states traveled to Washington to talk to Congressional representatives, including Republican staff of the Senate Banking Committee. Photos: Pete Vargas.

President George Bush announced December 19 a $17.4 billion dollar bridge loan for General Motors and Chrysler, a day after it hinted that the companies could be forced into "orderly" bankruptcy.

Auto workers who advocated for short-term aid to the auto industry's crisis bristled at the conditions attached to the loan. The Bush administration's requirements mirror demands from anti-union Republicans who torpedoed Congressional action last week. They would decimate UAW contracts and place retiree health care funds into company stock.

The plan hinges on a demand that UAW auto worker wages and work rules become "competitive" with wages and work rules in foreign-owned, non-union transplant factories in the South.

Lost in the discussion, auto workers said, is any recognition that wages and benefits are less than 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle and can't pull the Big 3 back to profitability.

"We've already taken concessions to help the industry become viable," said Brett Talbot-Ward, a UAW Local 1700 member who works at Chrysler's Sterling Heights Assembly plant. "Why are they asking for more from us when there are all sorts of other costs in the vehicle production process, much less the CEO pay, that haven't even factored into the debate?"

http://labornotes.org/node/1996