UAW leader happy White House will step in

DETROIT (AP) — A slightly relieved United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said he’s happy that the White House appears poised to step in and rescue the beleaguered auto industry, although he accused GOP senators who blocked emergency loans of trying to “pierce the heart” of organized labor.

“It was simply subterfuge,” he said at a news conference Friday in Detroit. “There were Republicans that wanted to tear down any agreement we came up with.”

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are seeking $14 billion in federal loans to make it through March. Both companies say they are running critically low on cash. Bankruptcy is possible without federal help.

A deal to provide the loans collapsed in the Senate on Thursday night after negotiations between lawmakers and the UAW over wage cuts fell apart.

The White House said Friday it will use the $700 billion Wall Street bailout fund to prevent the U.S. auto industry from collapsing, and the Treasury Department said it “will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes.”

“I’m not even sure what this means, how much they’re talking about, any terms or conditions that are associated with it,” Gettelfinger said.

He said he doesn’t think the union will be forced to negotiate wage cuts or other terms with the White House for the industry to get federal aid.

Gettelfinger said it’s important for the White House to release money as quickly as possible to avoid a “run on the banks” at the automakers as parts suppliers and creditors start demanding cash on delivery. The Bush administration agreed to a loan bill that was passed by the House, which includes the appointment of a “car czar” who would have the power to push for concessions from the union, creditors, dealers and other parties.

“It’s just easy to take the union and blame us for everything,” he said. “Other stakeholders were not being held to the same standards. We were on third base and the other stakeholders were not in the ballpark.”

Gettelfinger accused Republican senators from the South who blocked passage of the auto loan bill of doing the bidding of foreign automakers who have located factories in their states.

“They thought perhaps they could have a twofer here maybe: Pierce the heart of organized labor while representing the foreign brands,” Gettelfinger said.

The Senate negotiations that fell apart late Thursday centered on possible wage and benefit concessions from the UAW as well as large-scale debt restructuring by GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. The talks collapsed when the UAW refused to agree to bring workers’ pay into line with Japanese carmakers before the union’s current contract with the automakers expires in 2011.

Gettelfinger said some Senate Republicans may have “resented” the leadership the UAW showed during congressional hearings and meetings where it offered concessions such as the delay of company payments to an outside health care plan, and the shutdown of the controversial “jobs bank” program where some laid-off workers get paid a majority of their salary after unemployment benefits run dry.

Gettelfinger joined a chorus of union officials in expressing anger and frustration against senators who thwarted the bill.

Jim Graham, leader of a UAW local at a GM plant in Lordstown, accused the senators of acting on behalf of the Japanese auto industry in an effort to break the UAW so it can drive down wages. Foreign-owned automakers have located numerous factories in Southern states, where unions have less clout.