Look who’s finally ready to come to the table and negotiate.
The United Automobile Workers union said Wednesday that it would make major concessions in its contracts with the three Detroit auto companies to help them lobby Congress for $34 billion in federal aid.
The surprising move by the U.A.W. could be a critical factor in the automakers’ bid not only to get government assistance, but also to become competitive with the cost structure of nonunion plants operated by foreign automakers in the United States.
At a news conference in Detroit, the U.A.W.’s president, Ron Gettelfinger, said that his members were willing to sacrifice job security provisions and financing for retiree health care to keep the two most troubled car companies of the Big Three, General Motors and Chrysler, out of bankruptcy.
“Concessions, I used to cringe at that word,” Mr. Gettelfinger said. “But now, why hide it? That’s what we did.”
Aside from the fact that Gettlefinger’s last statement sums up 3/4 of what went wrong in Detroit, it also sums up what the Big Three’s biggest obstacle is going to be. The UAW isn’t exactly known for its generosity in giving concessions, but the idea that everyone in the union might lose their jobs could make them a little more open to negotiation. Still, I don’t see the UAW giving up much without a fight, and I’m not putting much faith in them until I see an ironclad agreement worked out between them and the Big Three.
PS – Could the silver lining is this be the end of UAW’s deathgrip on domestic automakers? This whole auto bailout mess is bringing some ugly facts about the role UAW has played in this to public light, and the public isn’t liking what it sees. However this plays out, the Big Three will have a much stronger position, both in terms of negotiations and in public sympathy, than they had before.
