UAW Talks Tough As Workers Worry
DETROIT _ In fiery remarks Tuesday, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger vowed to protect worker interests during pivotal contract talks later this year, even as the union faces mounting pressure from Detroit’s struggling automakers.
The UAW recognizes the challenges facing General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group, but the union will not be deterred from pursuing its agenda, Gettelfinger told more than 1,500 delegates at a UAW convention at Cobo Center in Detroit. Since June 2002, the last time a bargaining convention was held, more than 125 UAW locals have taken strike action, he said.
“Our union does not want to strike,” Gettelfinger said. “But when employers act as if collective bargaining is a one-way street and not a two-way street, then we will do what we have to do.”
Even though Gettelfinger talked tough in staking out the union’s position, a leading auto industry scholar and even some union delegates acknowledged that taking too hard a line with struggling automakers could be disastrous for everyone involved.
The Detroit automakers all lost money last year, are shrinking their workforces by the thousands and will aim to extract concessions on benefits such as health care. T he companies say the concessions are necessary to preserve jobs and the companies.
Gettelfinger delivered the speech as the UAW prepares to begin contract talks in July with GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG’s U.S. unit. The speech also took place as DaimlerChrysler explores the possible sale of the Chrysler Group, adding an extra level of anxiety for workers.
The two-day UAW convention, which ends Wednesday, does not get into details about the auto contracts but does lay out the overarching platform for the UAW, which represents about 550,000 workers.
Gettelfinger, who started as a chassis-line repairman in 1964 before working his way through the UAW ranks, was aggressive and hard-hitting. He blasted Delphi Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Miller for making millions of dollars while workers were being asked to take wage cuts and deal with plant closings.
More than a year and a half after the auto supplier filed for bankruptcy protection, Delphi, the UAW and GM, Delphi’s former parent, have yet to reach a new agreement for union workers.
“It is clear that these bottom feeders file bankruptcy to break the union,” Gettelfinger said. “Our message to the Steve Millers of corporate America: You will never do that. The UAW and other unions will always be there to fight one more day, no matter how long it takes.”
Gettelfinger’s rhetoric may have been tough, but the UAW leadership realizes concessions will be needed, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“They’re not serious about a strike. Nobody is,” Cole said. “They’re right at the edge of the cliff. They know the only thing a strike would do to the Big Three is push someone over the cliff.”
In the past year and a half, Gettelfinger and the UAW have shown a willingness to work with the automakers. UAW members approved mid-contract health care concessions at GM and Ford. The UAW also helped structure buyouts and early retirement packages that thinned the hourly ranks at GM and Ford by more than 70,000 workers.
More concessions will be needed, Cole said. He expects the companies to ask the UAW to convert some of their health care and retirement packages from defined benefit to defined contribution plans, lowering the costs for automakers. The UAW also could be presented with a two-tier wage system that lowers the pay scale for new workers.
The UAW is facing one of the most difficult periods in its history, Cole said. UAW membership fell 17 percent from 2000 and 2005, the last year reported, and likely has dropped even further with the recent set of buyouts in its core auto sector.
“I can’t imagine a more fragile, turbulent time for labor,” Cole said. “The choice is, do they want to be a smaller, viable union or a dead union? Smaller is better than dead. They know that well.”
Several delegates privately acknowledged that the convention is partially used to position the UAW ahead of the contract talks. Gettelfinger’s speech drew applause, standing ovations and shouts of support.
The automakers do their own posturing by stressing their financial woes as they head into contract talks, delegates pointed out.
Many of the delegates said Gettelfinger’s speech resonated with them and the sentiments of colleagues back at the plants.
UAW members have been making sacrifices for years as the automakers cut plants and jobs, said Lanita Gaines, a delegate from the Chrysler Group’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit.
Workers should not shoulder the blame for the problems caused by bad management decisions, Gaines said. She pointed to a pattern at Chrysler of building excessive inventories that come back to cost the company.
“It’s improper management,” Gaines said. “Until they get a grip on it, workers will suffer.”
Vince Frontera and Larry Glaza, delegates from GM’s truck plant in Pontiac, Mich., said they were optimistic the UAW and companies could come to an agreement without a strike.
It’s in the interests of both sides to get the Detroit automakers on sound footing, they said. But the UAW needs to take a strong stance for workers, they said _ preferably without a strike.
“Nobody wants to do that,” Frontera said. “Ever.”
“It’s always an option, though,” Glaza said. “I’d like to think that civilized individuals can compromise and through collective bargaining can make the right decision.”
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