GM-UAW Contract Talks: Health Care Sidelined -- for Now

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=122703

Date posted: 09-20-2007

DETROIT — General Motors and the United Auto Workers union, at an impasse on a proposed union-run retiree health-care fund, reportedly have set aside that issue for the moment and moved onto other matters.

After negotiating all day Wednesday on health care, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger ended discussions on creating a union-run health-care fund, known as a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA), for now.

Instead, negotiators for both sides were expected to be back at the bargaining table sometime Thursday — the sixth day since the September 14 expiration of the UAW's four-year contract. They will discuss other issues, including wages, insurance co-pays, overtime, outsourcing and a two-tier compensation structure that pays new hires less than current employees, gives them lesser health-care benefits and eliminates a pension.

Undoubtedly, health care will be back at the forefront sometime within the next couple of days, as it is the most critical issue of these negotiations.

GM wants to create a VEBA in order to shift $50 billion of future retiree health-care liabilities to the union-run fund. The hang-up seems to be over the nuts and bolts of how to set up the fund and how much GM should pay into it.

Meantime, UAW workers at GM remain on the job for the time being, as do those at Ford and Chrysler, which have indefinite contract extensions pending the outcome of the GM talks. The current four-year contract between the UAW and GM, Ford and Chrysler covers 180,681 active workers as well as 419,621 retirees and surviving spouses.

What this means to you: If you are an autoworker, keep working even though the talks are dragging on.