DETROIT UAW, Big Three work on contract

Negotiators work to avoid a strike as foreign automakers grow stronger.
DETROIT (AP) -- A deal between the United Auto Workers and the traditional Big Three automakers appeared to be closer Thursday, as bargainers tried to reach agreements before the current contracts expire Sept. 14.
An agreement could be reached in the next few days, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity. The source said a decision could depend on the tone of the updates UAW President Ron Gettelfinger gets from his top lieutenants about the talks with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG and suppliers Delphi Corp. and Visteon Corp.
The sides have been meeting daily, at times late into the night, since mid-July.
An early resolution "would be very unusual, but this is a new president who might want to set a certain innovative style," said Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.
"You'd have to go back to pre-1978," McAlinden said. "But it could be something new. Why not?"
The current contracts were negotiated in 1999 during the term of Gettelfinger's fiery predecessor, Stephen Yokich, who died last year.
The UAW and automakers are negotiating confidentially on issues such as wages, jobs, health care and pensions that affect 300,000 workers and nearly a half-million retirees and their spouses.
Tough times
At a time when the U.S. market share for GM, Ford and Chrysler is at an all-time low, and foreign automakers continue to expand their domestic lineups and capacity, most observers say the probability of a strike is low.
"Given the very competitive market, neither side wants a repeat of 1998, when GM endured a 54-day walkout at several facilities and lost significant market share," Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen J. Girsky said in a recent research report.
Gettelfinger has yet to choose one of the companies to lead negotiations. Typically, the union reaches a deal with one automaker and the others follow the resulting contract terms -- a so-called "pattern" agreement in the industry.
In past years, the leader has been called the "target" -- as in "strike target" -- but all sides hinted early on this summer that a strike would not be in the best interest of anyone involved.
GM, Ford and Chrysler reportedly have made their initial offers, though no one with the companies or the union will discuss the progress of talks.
One possibility
McAlinden said the offers could be similar enough that the UAW will negotiate with all three until a pact is reached.
"That would be very, very different -- no target, no leader," he said. "But all three companies aren't in a great position right now. Even if one of them could offer something better than the other two, there's probably a feeling that the other two couldn't come up with it."
One of the major issues heading into negotiations was expected to be health care. The three automakers have repeatedly said rising health care tabs represent one of their biggest cost disadvantages as they try to compete with foreign automakers.
However, Gettelfinger has insisted the UAW will not budge from its position of not accepting more of the financial burden for workers and retirees.