UAW Weighs 11th-Hour Bailout Concessions

Auto Workers To Hold Emergency Meeting In Detroit To Help Big 3 Get Government Loans

(CBS/AP)  Local United Auto Workers leaders from across the U.S. will hold an emergency meeting in Detroit on Wednesday to discuss concessions the union could make to help auto companies get government loans.

UAW leaders called the meeting Monday night in an e-mail, obtained by The Associated Press, to local union presidents and bargaining chairmen.

Among the subjects to be discussed at the meeting will be the possibility of restructuring the union-administered health care fund so that the automakers can delay payments to the multibillion-dollar fund, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The union leaders will also discuss potentially eliminating the jobs bank, in which laid-off workers keep receiving most of their pay. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the talks haven't been finalized.

Presidents from union locals for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC will attend the meeting, according to the e-mail. A separate meeting for GM union officials will follow.

Members of the committee that negotiated contracts last year with GM, Chrysler and Ford also will attend.

Chief executives from all three companies and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger are traveling to Washington this week to present business plans to Congress as they seek to get $25 billion in federal loans to help them survive.

The automakers will present their plans on Tuesday, the same day the industry is scheduled to report November U.S. sales. Analysts are expecting yet another month of dismal volumes due to the economic recession and the credit crisis.

GM, Ford and Chrysler would refinance their companies' debt, cut executive pay, seek concessions from workers and find other ways of reviving their staggering companies.

Gettelfinger said Tuesday the plans the automakers are submitting to Congress don't yet include union-approved cutbacks, but he said "we recognize that there may be additional sacrifices required."

"We have ongoing discussions with the companies about different issues. We're working all the time to help save the companies money," he said on WJR-AM's "Paul W. Smith Show" in Detroit.

Virg Bernero, mayor of Lansing, Mich., told CBS' The Early Show that an auto industry bailout would be a safe investment for American taxpayers and would ultimately protect the workers.

"These are actually people that produce something unlike Wall Street and Washington, where they mainly produce hot air and hysteria," said Bernero. "These are real people making real products and it's worthy of our investment."

U.S. automakers are struggling to stay afloat heading into next year under the weight of an economic meltdown, the worst auto sales in decades and a tight credit market. GM, Ford and Chrysler went through nearly $18 billion in cash reserves during the last quarter, and GM and Chrysler have said they could collapse in weeks.

Last month, chief executives from the Detroit Three failed to convince Congress they were worthy of the $25 billion in loans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ordered them to outline major changes, including the elimination of lavish executive pay packages and assurances that taxpayers would be reimbursed for the loans.

[missglo]

Worthy Investments? Most American Cars last as long as your payments.Let us be truthful, this is why Honda and others are ahead in Car Sales. For years these Auto makers gave no account for Recalls, Lawsuits of failure to safety, etc. Now it has hit them. And they want a Bailout.It is not the Employees fault. It is the Auto Makers, cutting corners on Quality. That Dropped their sales. Now we see the Fruit of their decisions.......

[dsul93]

Up to the Minute has certainly investigated the wages of auto workers. Why didn''t you investigate the wages of the fianancial industry workers? Why haven''t you investigated the Treasury dept or congressional connection to wall st. lobbyist, like you are for the auto industry? this seems like selective journalism. Is that coming from the top? And what are CBS''s connections to the finalcial industry? The comparison between union workers in the north and non-union workers gives us an idea of what we can expect: lower wages, fewer benefits. Great for the bottom line, bad for american workers. The benefits to retirees are contacts and covered by law. Typical republican ways: break the union, break the workers, laugh all the way to the bank. And if the banks fail, bail them out. If workers lose their jobs, take a cut in wages, lose their homes, go deeper in debt... well it''s their own fault. That''s screwy thinking.

[standupguy3]

The UAW should not give an inch. Why should the UAW workers be asked to give up $60,000 - $89,000 jobs, guaranteed wages when laid off, full medical coverage, the job bank and our leave and absence privileges at a time whne we can barely Make ends meet.
The UAW should wait this out because Congress will give up the dough. They know we control who gets elected.

Cutting Saturn loose makes a lot of sense because they have fought bargaining since day 1 and they do nothing but cut into our small and midsize unit sales becasue they make cheaper cars. Go UAW.

[david393071]

Let''s see we Bailed out the Financial Institutions so that they could increase the cash flow and give out loans. And they do not want to loan the Obese 3 any money. That says something in itself. They want a loan, I want the Corporate Board Members international property as collateral.

[sincity_q]

I think that if we can afford to give $700 billion to the banks, we can find a way to help the auto industry with a fraction of the sum.

That being said, though, I''d like the UAW sign a no-straike agreement for the next 10 years or failing that test, just elliminated altogether.

[old_timer3]

notopennshut - YOU ARE CORRECT - Please email your congressperson and senators and any one else you can think of. I have been emailing the same comments

[tiredofthebs]

Reading this article you might ACTUALLY believe that the UAW really means something. It''s a concept that''s past it''s time. Let these union execs go look for a real job.

[notopennshut]

It is obvious that the Big 3 will not be able to survive as is, and often, in the case of a "dying" patient, that is the expected end result, regardless of how much drugs you provide. As "new" entities, after chapter11, the workers have to be realistic and not expect unreasonable salaries, benefits for life, like health insurance and pensions. Even if the 3 survive,benefits for current and past employees must be restructured, whereby they have to be responsible for a chunk of their health benefits and no longer any freebies. Further, the Jobs banks MUST BE ELIMINATED NOW, and not tomorrow or next year. Where in the world would workers be paid for years while doing basically nothing?? Where in the world would high school graduates or drop-outs get over $70 per hour for a job? Check out the salaries of top CEO''s in Japan and Korea - anyone making even near the millions that the 3 here make? A million is top even for Toyota. We have over-fed the auto industry too much over the decades and they have not been able or willing to make the slightest concessions AND THEY WILL NOT CHANGE, regardless of how much more is poured into their coffers, other than to pay themselves more. Even Toyota and Honda are suffering the downturn, but not to this extent because they did not start off by enriching themselves first. Only way to restructure and reorganize is to make sure that these 3 characters and the UAW chiefs must go first - otherwise not a penny more.

[questionnews]

The UAW are looking for their 90% cut of the bailout money. The UAW really did kill the goose (big 3) that laid the golden egg (decent family wage) with their greed. They gutted the goose.

[andylance1]

The Big Three and the UAW are in a downward spiral beyond a point of no return. Any money given these bozos will go right down the drain with them.

This is a sanity test for Congress. If they give any money to Detroit they are insane.

[garymontague]

We need to quit focussing on the red herrings and try to identify the connections between the bankers and the polititions that repealed the laws that would have prevented this mess.

[noloyalisti]

The slimy oil corporations, responsible for two invasions and occupations for oil and recipients of huge profits, should bail out the auto companies. If they refuse, we nationalize them like we did the banks. Why should we only nationalize failed businesses?