UAW Union president stands firm on health care costs

UAW is looking to enhance gains achieved in its last labor contract.
DETROIT (AP) -- United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger reiterated Tuesday that the union will not accept a labor contract from Detroit automakers that shifts rising health care costs to workers, but he remains confident the parties can reach an equitable agreement.
The UAW and Detroit's Big Three automakers -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group -- begin talks next month on contracts covering wages and benefits for about 300,000 hourly workers.
The contracts, negotiated in 1999, expire in September. They also cover some workers at suppliers Delphi Corp. and Visteon Corp.
"We're going into negotiations optimistically," Gettelfinger said in an interview at UAW headquarters. "We have good relations with all five companies involved."
Gettelfinger has said the union's bargaining priorities include preserving, if not enhancing, gains made in previous contracts.
Worse conditions
But the industry landscape is bleak compared to four years ago when the UAW emerged from talks with one of its most generous pacts in decades. It included 3-percent annual pay increases, a ban on plant closings and nearly cost-free health care.
These days, automakers face lagging vehicle sales, rising health care costs, diminishing profits and a glut of manufacturing capacity throughout North America.
At the same time, most analysts expect foreign automakers to continue gaining U.S. market share as transplants add new vehicles and production capacity in North America.
Last year, GM, the world's largest automaker, spent $4.5 billion on medical care for 1.2 million U.S. employees, retirees and dependents.