Topic: Big Three to seek big concessions from UAW

[Allen]

Big Three to seek big concessions from UAW
Reuters

June 14, 2007 at 6:28 AM EDT

NEW YORK — — The three big Detroit auto makers will seek unprecedented concessions from the United Auto Workers union in contract negotiations, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Thursday, citing auto executives.

General Motors Corp [GM-N]., Ford Motor Co. [F-N] and DaimlerChrysler AG' [DCX-N]sChrysler Group are looking to close a gap in labour costs of $10-billion a year compared with their leaner Asian rivals, according to the report.

None of the three auto makers or the UAW was immediately available for comment.

One industry executive told the Journal the three companies were resolved to move jobs overseas if they could not reduce their U.S. labour costs.

In the past they have agreed to costly labour contracts, but this time the car makers are united in believing they have no choice but to close the cost gap, according to the report.

The crucial round of contract talks with the UAW begins next month. A four-year deal on wages and benefits expires in September.

Separately, GM and bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp. are near a deal with the United Auto Workers union that would provide a cash payout to Delphi workers in exchange for lower hourly wages, the Detroit News reported on Thursday.

GM would fund the program. An agreement could be completed within a week or so, helping Delphi to emerge from bankruptcy, according to the report.

The proposal would offer 4,000 UAW workers an unspecified one-time lump sum cash payment in return for accepting lower wages that could range from $14 to $18 per hour. Workers could also take the lump sum and accept early retirement or return to GM, the Detroit News said, citing people familiar with the talks.

A Delphi spokesman was not immediately available.

[Wolverine]

The fact is that workers costs reached a level where it became unsustainable, something must be done. Know that it's Big 3's fault, nobody forced them to make these concessions, but 10 billions in labor cost is just too much.

Considering that, together, Ford, GM and Chrysler have 689,329 workers worldwide, thats more than 14K/worker/year more than is paid to non-UAW workers on other companies. Of course this number would be even greater if we remember that not all the Big 3's workers are "unionized".

[2latecrew]

Unions have been slicing pieces off the cow for years. Now the cow is gonna die. They either stop slicing or kill the cow its that simple.

The Unions DID have something to do with forcing the big 3 into this position. They asked for more and more every year. they went on strike if they didn't get it. But they did they job they did what was "best' for union MEMBERSHIP the CURRENT membership. Not future members. 50 years ago the members were getting the wages medical everything. Nobody thought ahead that the extra buck or two for them NOW would result in their son or daughter losing their job someday.


Even if the situation were less dire I still think they would be considering ways to move overseas to take advantage of cheaper production costs. But it would be a much harder sell. It would be all about the greedy companies trying to increase their profits. Now they look like the good guys. "hey we are trying to preserve at least some north American jobs. If we don't move overseas and go bankrupt we'll lose all of them!" or "We don't to move overseas but the Unions have strangled us to the point where we have no choice blame them for the lost jobs not us".

Moving overseas will incur a great deal of capital investment as well as short term costs of closing plants severance etc. They will need to weight the cost of these things vs the savings from concessions and compare it to the savings from overseas.

Moving would be a massive cost in the short term. I don't think it would help the bottom line.

The union members will likely campaign that the big 3 are using the overseas threats to take what is there but they really need to look inward to see who help put the current union membership in the first place.

[safristi]

If the Union Bosses don't rein in the the Membership to Reality 101..it will indeed be...."TOOLATECREW" ...Money Walks these days............as easy as PIE....
    having said THIS I've heard some of Hargroves "BLUSTER" lately wot a TOOL...he's prolly near RETIREMENT wif a BIG FAT Pension benifit  deal on the back of the people he has been too chicken to sell REALITY TO.......I hope he chokes on his BAHAMA MAMMAS when he goes "south!!"......