UAW workers protest at auto show

About 75 United Auto Workers members showed up for the opening of Detroit’s auto show Monday to protest wage cuts mandated by Washington.

Automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC must seek concessions from rank and file workers under terms of $17.4 billion in emergency loans given to the companies to see them through slumping sales and a slow economy, the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.

While automakers struggle, union member have been demonized, organizer Wendy Thompson said.

The often-told figure of union workers making $72 an hour is a lie, said union member Frank Warren.

I think that’s … been promoted by elected individuals to destroy the union, said Warren, who estimated he made $35 an hour including benefits.

The loans mandate GM and Chrysler submit corporate plans by Feb. 17 that include cutting factory pay to match that paid by foreign companies with plants in the United States.

GM must also convince the union to accept two-thirds of a company contribution to a healthcare plan for retired workers in company stock.