U.A.W. Chief Faces Shrinking Auto Industry -Kill Wal-Mart

NY Times ^ | 6/23/05 | Danny Hakim

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

As a negotiator, Ron Gettelfinger, the United Automobile Workers president, is known more for the carrot than the stick. Just don't mistake him for easygoing.

This year, he briefly banned marines stationed near Solidarity House, the union's headquarters, from parking in the union lot if they drove foreign cars or had Bush bumper stickers. And in 2001, shortly after being nominated for the union presidency, he summed up his style in one word: "abrasive."

This summer, as he faces the fight of his union life in a showdown with General Motors, his penchant for compromising with the beleaguered domestic automakers is checked by a belief that his workers deserve their wages and health care benefits. Whether he chooses the carrot or stick will have broad implications for the future of the American auto worker and help determine whether the Big Three automakers can slash costs to compete against Toyota and other foreign rivals with lower labor costs.

Rick Wagoner, G.M.'s chief executive, is betting he can force Mr. Gettelfinger to blink. Fighting for his job after G.M.'s $1.1 billion first quarter loss, Mr. Wagoner is threatening to make steep cuts to the health benefits with or without the union's support, a hard line that has puzzled some analysts.

Mr. Gettelfinger, a 60-year-old former marine, says he is willing to offer some help to G.M., but will not be pushed into a corner and will not re-open the company's labor contract before it expires in 2007...

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

What about benefits?

[AlbertWang]

GM is dead, rotted from both the top and bottom. The UAW needs to be thinking about what it will be like when Toyota is the most powerful domestic car maker.

[staytrue]

did ford announce cutting 1700 white collar jobs today ?

gm and ford are in big trouble

[ken21]

right.

for decades gm had an over-bloated management.

for decades gm gave into the unions' whims.

in order to survive gm and ford may need to dump their unions' legacy costs.

[bolobaby]

A fine example of how unions slowly erode a company's competitiveness and ability to do business. Eventually, the union thugs lose their jobs asking "How did this happen?"

You did it to yourselves, you did it to yourselves...

[bfree]

G.M. spends nearly $6 billion annually to provide benefits to 1.1 million Americans and has two-and-a-half retirees for every active worker. More important, G.M. spends about $1,500 for each American vehicle on healthcare, an amount believed to be roughly $1,000 more per car than Toyota.

Little wonder why GM is in trouble.

[Ciexyz]

Here's hoping that a solution will be negotiated that will satisfy all sides and keep the company afloat.

[biff]

GM will eventually file bankruptcy in order to dump its retirement and medical benefits onto the federal pension guaranty program which is funded by us taxpayers.

[Rummyfan]

This year, he briefly banned marines stationed near Solidarity House, the union's headquarters, from parking in the union lot if they drove foreign cars or had Bush bumper stickers. And in 2001, shortly after being nominated for the union presidency, he summed up his style in one word: "abrasive."

I would sum up his 'style' as stupid.

[JSteff]

"gm and ford are in big trouble"

They can make excuses but they only have themselves to blame. Funny they are a microcosm of the US. Sign anything, worry about paying it down the road.

Promise anything to keep things rolling, no matter what the future costs.. worry about it later, it will be someone else's problem.

[bolobaby]

"GM will eventually file bankruptcy in order to dump its retirement and medical benefits onto the federal pension guaranty program which is funded by us taxpayers."

It *should* be funded by union taxpayers.

[traviskicks]

on union thuggary with commentary
http://www.neoperspectives.com/unions.htm

[upchuck]

How is Wal*Mart involved in this? I find no reference to them in the article.

[spetznaz]

What/where is the Wallie connection?