US automakers do not need to be granted major concessions during contract negotiations, the president of the United Auto Workers union said Friday.
“We've already made major concessions,” Ron Gettelfinger told reporters at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, as the union opened its talks with Chrysler.
“There are other things that can be done at these companies other than cutting costs, where it pertains to the work force.”
He quickly added that “workers today are working a lot harder then they've ever been.”
Gettelfinger dismissed pre-negotiation speculation the union needs to agree to sweeping concessions if the American auto companies, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, are to survive challenging market conditions.
“I think the industry is going to survive,” he said.
“There has been a lot of media people, a lot of business think tanks and a lot of analysts who have been talking about the negotiations. None of them were in the room this morning.”
Chrysler chief executive officer Tom LaSorda disagreed.
“Today, the domestic auto industry faces unprecedented challenges, and we can no longer afford to conduct 'business as usual',” he told reporters.
“Our circumstances demand that we re-think our approach to our business and achieve true transformational change.”
LaSorda said the company, which DaimlerChrysler has agreed to sell to private equity group Cerberus, is committed to working with the union to build a better and stronger Chrysler.
“Never has there been a better time to re-examine every part of our business model … including our relationship with labor.”
LaSorda noted that the company was “very close” to closing the deal with Cerberus as bank financing is now lined up.
The UAW president said the outcome of the negotiations will have an impact beyond the automobile industry.
“When we go into negotiations, there are a lot of people who benefit from what we do whether they're union members or not,” Gettelfinger said.
“In this round of negotiations job security again is very important to us. The American automobile industry is very important to this country. So when we fight to preserve jobs, it helps our country as a whole,” he said.
Gettelfinger said the union expects to sign virtually identical contracts with all three automakers, sticking to the 'pattern bargaining' it instituted years ago.
This ought to help Chrysler obtain similar health care concessions the union granted to GM and Ford in 2005, company officials said.
The UAW will officially open contract talks with GM and Ford on Monday.
Industry insiders consider a potential strike over the talks highly unlikely given the current financial difficulties of the automakers.
