Union Chief Gives Update to Plant-Level Officials

JOHN LIPPERT / Bloomberg News 15oct2005

DETROIT - The United Auto Workers union told its leaders in General Motors Corp. plants nationwide that an agreement on the company's request to lower its $5.6 billion annual expense for health care is "possible." Factory-level officials were notified by e-mail Friday, Ron Gettelfinger, the union's president, said. Those officials in turn will tell rank-and-file workers, he said.

Ron Gettelfinger, UAW International President Expects to Reach Health Care Agreement This Weekend

"We have reached a point in these talks where it is possible we could reach an agreement on this matter," said the e-mail. "In view of this fact, we thought it appropriate to provide you this update."

The two sides will keep meeting over the weekend, and have established no timetable for concluding the talks, Gettelfinger said.

Last-minute disputes could still derail the accord, said UAW Vice President Dick Shoemaker.

GM and the UAW have been negotiating for months on ways to lower GM's health-care bill, which Chief Executive Rick Wagoner identified as a source of "crisis" in January. The automaker's U.S. sales and market share have fallen this year, and Wagoner is trying to return the company to profitability after three quarters of losses.

"We're going to continue discussions into the weekend, and obviously we want to bring this to a conclusion and move forward with other issues," Gettelfinger said.

Stefan Weinmann, a GM spokesman, declined to comment on the status of the talks.

The Wall Street Journal earlier Friday reported GM could impose unilateral health-care changes when it reports third-quarter profit Monday if the two sides don't agree. The Journal cited people familiar with the matter whom it didn't identify.

GM has been trying to get the union to accept benefits that are closer to what salaried employees at the company get. Salaried workers pay some of their health-care premiums as well as co-pays. Union workers don't pay the premium and have fewer and lower co-pays than salaried employees.

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., said he was notified by GM Thursday that an agreement in principle on health care had been reached by the two sides. Cole said last-minute disputes could still unravel the accord.

He said he expects the agreement to be included in GM's earnings release.

"It will be quite significant," Cole said in an interview Friday. "It will not just be a 1 percent increase in co-pays. It will be a lot more substantial than that."

source: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20051015/1027846.asp?PFVer=Story 20oct2005