Does UAW have the guts to strike GM? Sadly I think they don't and GM knows it.

[RB TexLa]

UAW could put a permanent bullet through the heart of GM if it wanted. They could right now kill GM but GM doesn't treat them as if they could because they know UAW doesn't have it in them to pull the trigger.




GM, UAW talks break off and Chrysler talks stall

By Kevin Krolicki and Poornima Gupta



DETROIT (Reuters) – Talks between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp central to a turnaround plan for the struggling automaker have broken down over the issue of retiree healthcare costs, a person briefed on the talks said on Saturday.

A parallel set of talks between Chrysler LLC and the UAW over similar concessions were continuing over the weekend but little progress had been made, a person briefed on those negotiations said.

The breakdown of talks at GM and the stalled negotiations at Chrysler come with just three days remaining until both automakers must submit new restructuring plans to the U.S. government as a condition of the $17.4 billion in federal aid that has kept them both operating since the start of the year.

"It doesn't seem like the stakeholders are really prepared to give a whole lot," said independent auto industry analyst Erich Merkle. "It's a high-stakes game of poker right now."

If GM cannot win agreement from the UAW and creditors to reduce its debt, analysts say the Obama administration will face a politically tough choice: either pump billions of dollars more into the struggling automaker or steer it toward bankruptcy as some critics of the bailout have urged.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090215/bs_nm/us_gm_2

[Bluzmann57]

1. Now why in the hell would the UAW want to kill GM?

This is their livelihood, how they feed their families. Killing off the employer doesn't make much sense to me. Unions and management must work together so that everyone can be prosperous and safe.

[RB TexLa]

3. They don't have to kill them, they just have to let GM know that they could and will.

to be crude, they have to put GM's balls in their hands and say we are going to squeeze right to the point they are going to rupture, now we might let go before they burst and we might not. Then of course they have to do that.

[JVS]

11. According to this article GM and Chrysler have no-strike agreements as part of the conditions of...

their "loans".

http://www.autoworkercaravan.org/node/85

But this moratorium on striking or threatening to strike ends on 2.17.2009

If the UAW wants to protect its interests, they should attack Chrysler and Ford as well and not simply GM, which already looks to be headed down the toilet. By threatening Ford (the most hopeful of the automakers) the UAW might be able to force government intervention that is more on the side of labor than that of Jan 8th. Of course, it's kind of difficult to make a strike when you've already been idled

[RB TexLa]

13. Even if it wasn't expiring, what would the government do? Lock up strikers? Blow their brains out?

They would do nothing, apart from talking for television cameras.

[JVS]

15. File charges against the UAW

[TheFarseer]

2. what would killing GM do for the UAW?

I think they should be trying to be part of the solution by making some concessions but demanding that management give up their outrageous compensation and unnecessary perks.

[Horse with no Name]

4. GM is going to file Chapter 11

When they do that--all pensions, insurance, and any type of job security that remains will be in the dust.
At this point, nobody has anything to lose. Sadly.

[barb162]

7. I heard this may be a possibility a few days ago.

Striking won't help at this point.

[Jack Bone]

5. It's about retiree health care....

I believe we should hold the company's feet to the fire. What they're trying to do change the way they fund the UAW for insuring their retirees. Back in the 2007 contract the UAW set up a VEBA trust to fund GM & Chrysler's, as well as Ford's, retirees. The automakers now have to place money into the trust, as agreed, to cover those retirees. Instead,(In GM's case) they're trying to make their payments to VEBA in advance by using stock.

Here's more on the subject.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090215/BUSINESS01/902150466/1014/UAW+rejects+Chrysler++GM+trust+plans

[Still Sensible]

6. No reason to even consider this

the UAW would lose the PR war big time if they decided to do this right now IMO. They would give the company the final push over the edge. It would make bankruptcy the only viable option and would put the UAW members at even more risk.

[marketcrazy1]

8. Does UAW have the guts to pull the trigger and strike GM?

pull the trigger and blow there own heads off!! yup, that will work!!! LOL!! GM is toast!!

[JVS]

9. Didn't they agree not to strike GM as part of the bailout?

[lunatica]

10. What the UAW could do now is negotiate a contract to help save GM

from going under. Get an interest in the future stock as well as have a major say in hiring all future management which would include workers from their own membership. Let the union participate in the decision making and it's almost guaranteed that the company will survive. If the union members are given at least equal weight to management the company will benefit.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. GM is now threatening bankrupty to blackmail congress for more dough.

[zagging]

14. GM has 2.5 retirees for every active employee

It has been a major burden on GM for a long time. If the UAW does not concede, the bankruptcy court will probably make these concessions look mild in comparison.

I know GM made promises, but the dam will burst anyways.

[JVS]

16. No. GM has 2.5 retirees for every job they decided not to send outside of America.

Big difference.

[zagging]

17. Big difference where?

What difference is that going to make? Non-domestic pensions are funded by their respective governments.

[JVS]

18. Does only the work of active US laborers contribute to the company's revenue?

Or do they make money from employees everywhere?

[zagging]

19. It's a complicated bookkeeping problem

and honestly, I don't know how that is worked out. As far as I know, there is only one GM common stock, so GM's worldwide revenue may be in one bucket, but as far as the accounting of it with regard to the UAW negotiations, I think your question is moot.

Non-domestic retirement benefits are not a consideration, they are taken care of. The UAW is bargaining for domestic retiree benefits based on numbers already determined; that is GM's revenue, and 2.5 domestic retirees for 1 domestic employee.