GM, UAW Agree On Tentative Contract

Deal Ends Nationwide Strike, Heath Benefits-For-Retirees Program Created

(CBS/AP) 
Deutsche Bank auto analyst Rod Lache said the agreement to move retiree health care costs off GM's books could eventually reduce the labor cost gap by $18 an hour. GM would pay about 70 percent of its obligation, or nearly $36 billion, into the trust, called a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association, or VEBA, according to a person who was briefed on the contract and asked not to be identified by name because the contract details aren't yet public.

Gettelfinger said the UAW's projections show the VEBA will secure retirees for 80 years. GM currently has 340,000 hourly retirees and spouses. Gettelfinger said he recognizes some in the union are opposed to the VEBA, but the union has supported the idea for several years.

After ratification, the VEBA memorandum would have to be approved by the courts and would be reviewed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, GM said.

One of the people briefed on the contract said that because GM's pension fund has more money than its expected obligations, both sides agreed to tap into it to fund the trust. Retirees also would get a pension increase, but it would be offset by an equal increase in health care contributions, the person said.

In exchange for their ratification, union members would get a one-time bonus of $3,000 and then bonuses of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent of their annual pay each year for the last three years of the contract, said one of the people briefed on the contract.

GM also committed to future investments in U.S. plants, that person said. Gettelfinger said job security was the major issue that caused the strike, but he wouldn't say Wednesday whether GM has promised specific future products to U.S. factories.

That person also said GM would hire temporary autoworkers at full company wages and benefits. The company has approximately 6,000 temporary workers, the person said. Temporary workers who have been at the company for less than 90 days would be hired at a lower wage, the person said.

The pact also includes a lower wage structure for newly hired workers in certain non-manufacturing jobs such as sanitation workers, that person said. The person said in order to make way for the new hires, GM would offer early retirement and buyout packages of $35,000 to workers now in the positions.

Hoselton said that agreement paves the way for a two-tier wage structure throughout the company and industry, something the automakers have been seeking.

Despite the agreement to lower wages for some workers, the agreement is a good one for the union and showed labor is still a force to be reckoned with, said Ross Eisenbrey, a labor expert and vice president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington D.C.

"It's really phenomenal: One of the most powerful multinational corporations in the world and it didn't run over the workers," he said. "It didn't because the union was there to keep it from happening. I'm really heartened by what I see as the union's success here."

[norm_ster]

I would expect the autoworkers to demand more from the UAW leadership after reading numerous articles about this. The details that have been made public so far reflect a strong similarity to the contract recently ratified by Delphi workers. Those people may now have a job, but the standard of living for them has taken a huge hit. I don''t know how they expect people to pay the bills when only making thirty thousand dollars a year. This is "full time" employment and the company expects to pay less than poverty level wages! For my part Ron Gettelfinger has lost his credibility when he can publicly say that he is proud of this tentative agreement and that he is confident it will be ratified. After calling on the workers to walk off the job and onto the picket lines the rank and file should expect more. In the weeks leading up to the strike the news was that the UAW would be open to negotiating a VEBA trust, in exchange for concessions on 2 tier wages, competitive operating agreements, and other such talk. Yet, when the news broke that a tentative agreement has been reached and the highlights started making headlines . . . They have agreed to the VEBA trust, and all the competitive operating agreement language, and the formation of a two tiered wage plan. I guess Mr. Gettelfinger thinks that the american auto workers should just be happy to have jobs. Personally I am ready to send them all right back to the bargaining table until they can come up with a real proposal.

[getloud1]

Ron Paul has it all.

**** TAKE AMERICA BACK ****
**** STOP THE WAR & Corporate Corruption****

He has NEVER voted:
* to raise taxes
* for an unbalanced budget
* to raise congressional pay
* for a federal restriction on gun ownership
* to increase the power of the executive branch

He HAS voted:
* against the Iraq war
* against the inappropriately named USA PATRIOT act
* against regulating the internet
* against the Military Commissions Act

He will eliminate the IRS, Wasteful Government Spending & Stop The Iraq War Immediately!

Most importantly, he voted NO on anything in Congress that is not allowed by the Constitution.

He is the only candidate not a member of the CFR!

Shouldn''t ALL members of Congress uphold the Constitution? Aren''t they SWORN to uphold it? You can bet Paul WON''T call the Constitution "just a G**D***ed piece of paper" like George Bush is reported to have.

If you want a candidate you can TRUST due to a proven track record, visit www.ronpaul2008.com and get busy spreading the word. The Mainstream Media is Blacking Out The Truth Spoke By Ron Paul!

Join The ReVoLuTiOn In Your City Stand Up America:
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[jetranger7]

Actually None of this Really Matters Anyway, Because, here before Long, The Big Oil Companies are gonna drive the price of Gas & Oil up so High, any of us will be Lucky to be Driving, any Automobile, which is Why I''m starting me a new Bicycle Factory, and my Employees will belong to the Peddle Union, so far theres only 1 Employee, and he isn''t worth a Hoot, he''s Lazy, Slow, Doesn''t pay attention, Goofs Off, takes excessive lunch hours,Late to Work all the time, takes off all the time, Ohh Wait, thats me !!! My Mistake !! Sorry !!

[rfcnj68]

The said part of this is that the workers will get it in the end. They will ratify this because the big boys that just figured out away to line their pockets a little more will sell them on it.

I am curious to see where all this new found money will really go and how fast it will disappear over the next thirty years. They won%u2019t do it fast that is too obvious it will be done slow and over time and the VEBA will be bankrupt.

[Krazcarl]

good news glad it''s over support the men that walked the line.

[random_radar]

Wow! This is the win-win deal of the century! GM just dumped a huge liability for healthcare, which is why their stock went up. The union just gained a huge amount of power over their members by taking control of their healthcare (not to mention getting $36 billion), which is why the union officials are all smiles. Who says business management and union management can''t work together? So long as the workers don''t figure out what is happening to them, everyone will be happy!

[reporter14]

A picture is worth a thousand Words,
www.poconocommunitynews.com

[tnt1954]

i love the union of soviet america where welfare
pays better than going to work. i earn my welfare.
my charity check. its hard work doing nothing.
its a tuff life being born with a disability.
rush limbaugh complains about having to support
people who cannot support themselves. well, if
you wanna go back to that system fine. i just
adapted to the one that''s in place here in the
union of soviet america. its been that way since
about 1953 when the soviets won the korean war,
and the cold war. we''re no more a free country
than a man in the moon. in real 1967 money, 73
dollars an hour is about 6 dollars an hour in
1967. go unions go, keep raising the cost of
living. higher and higher and higher. you''re
just pedaling to keep up like the rest of us. you
think things are bad? go review old films of
the Great Depression. it''ll blow your mind.
we''re in heaven, honey bunnies compared to then. yay.

[rationall7]

When the auto makers close in America and re-open in Mexico the Mexicians will still cross the border to do landscaping work or pick fruit because they can still earn more money here compared to what big corp will pay them down there ain''t that right Maytag and others.

[getloud1]

RESTORE OUR LIBERTY, FREEDOMS & AMERICA! DESTROY CORRUPT POLITICANS & CORPORATIONS GET ACTIVE IN YOUR CITY TODAY, TAKE ACTION! JOIN THE REVOLUTION:
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/cities/

He Will Eliminate the IRS! And Stop The War In Iraq Immediatley! Restore And Protect America From Illegal Immigration! http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues