King expected to lead UAW; staff cuts announced

[Blue_Tires]

Source: Detroit News

Bryce G. Hoffman and Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
Bob King will be formally nominated to succeed United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger as the new head of the union at an administrative caucus meeting in Dearborn on Wednesday, according to UAW sources. In other developments, Gettelfinger has informed union staff that he will impose the terms of a concessionary contract that they voted down last month -- a move that reduces benefits for the union's own retirees and requires each UAW employee to accept a two-week unpaid furlough or give up their 401(k) matching contribution next year, the sources said.

At least 120 UAW employees also will lose their jobs as the union struggles to remain solvent in the face of a massive membership decline that has seen its rolls drop to 431,000 from well over 500,000 a year ago.

The caucus' nomination effectively guarantees that King, who currently heads the union's national Ford section, will be the next president of the UAW.

"Since the 1940s when Walter Reuther formed the administrative caucus, the person selected by that committee has won the election," said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in labor. "I'm not surprised that Bob King may be nominated. He is very well respected and well liked in the UAW. I don't expect much different direction (from Gettelfinger's)."

But King's reputation is still bruised by the recent defeat of an agreement he negotiated with Ford to match some of the concessions the UAW granted rivals General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC during their bankruptcy reorganizations earlier this year. On more than one occasion, union dissidents booed King when he tried to speak in favor of the concessionary deal at factories from Michigan to Missouri.

The election itself will take place at the UAW's national convention, currently scheduled to be held in Detroit in June, according to UAW sources.



Read more: http://detnews.com/article/20091211/AUTO01/912110441/1148/AUTO01/King-expected-to-lead-UAW--staff-cuts-announced

[Delphinus]

1. In one of the articles,

they say Gettelfinger has to step down at 65. King is close to 65 - does that mean he only gets to serve one year? Or will he serve out his term?

[Blue_Tires]

2. not sure...you can ask Omaha Steve