UAW, Big Three Talks Near Crunch Time

by James Parks, Sep 14, 2007

More than 2,500 members of IAM Local 774 in Wichita, Kan., rallied this week for a contract at Cessna.

UPDATE: Negotiators from the UAW and GM took a break early Saturday and agreed to extend the contract and resume talks later today.   

Contract talks between the UAW and the Big Three automakers are coming to crunch time. With the national contracts set to expire at midnight Friday, the union yesterday selected General Motors Corp. as the lead negotiating partner, or strike target, in the negotiations. The union also has agreed to extend its contracts with Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler.

In an e-mail to local union leaders Thursday, UAW Vice President Carl Rapson said:

The UAW International Executive Board has decided that General Motors Corp. will be the strike target for this round of national automotive contract negotiations. We are continuing to meet with the corporation and expect to put in long hours between now and the deadline. There is still much to be done.

The contracts cover 178,000 workers nationwide. When the talks began in July, union leaders said the stakes were high. Negotiating under the theme “Fighting for America’s Future: Good Jobs. Strong Communities,” the workers said they were determined to continue to create a high-quality, high-performance workplace where everybody wins.

Published reports say the key issue in the talks is the cost of retiree health care. When negotiations began, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said workers would fight to defend good wages, secure benefits and decent pensions, and maintain job and income security, along with opportunities for lifelong training and education.  

In other bargaining news:

• Members of Machinists (IAM) Local 774 reached a tentative agreement with Cessna Aircraft Co. on a three-year contract that met workers’ key demands, including keeping existing health care coverage.

Under the agreement, which was reached just three days before the current deal was set to expire, the health care premiums will remain the same while employees would have the opportunity to enroll in additional health insurance choices at the same cost they currently pay, the union said. The contract covers about 5,000 workers at the company’s aircraft manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kan.

IAM President Tom Buffenbarger said:

The value of collective bargaining, membership solidarity and professional representation are clearly evident in the terms of this tentative agreement. The benefits of IAM membership could hardly be more compelling. 

• The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) indefinitely suspended contract talks with Interstate Bakeries, makers of Wonder Bread, Twinkies and other well-known brands.

BCTGM President Frank Hurt said:

There is simply a limit to what can reasonably be asked of [our members], particularly when upper-level management has been receiving huge salary increases, as well as current and forward-looking bonuses, even as the company struggled through bankruptcy.

Interstate has been operating under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code since the fall of 2004.

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)