GM would give UAW a chunk of common stock

DETROIT — General Motors Corp. will give the United Auto Workers union 17.5 percent of its common stock, $6.5 billion of preferred shares and a $2.5 billion note to fund a trust that will take over retiree health care costs starting next year.

The funding is part of a tentative agreement that union members will vote on this week as GM tries to pull together the remaining pieces that would allow it to restructure outside of bankruptcy.

Workers at GM’s Lordstown complex will hear details on the plans at meetings Thursday, said Jim Graham, president of UAW Local 1112. Tentative plans call for meetings at noon and 4 p.m. at a local banquet hall, he said.

The meetings will be for both Local 1112 and Local 1714 members. Voting will be held at each session.

If the deal is passed, a meeting will be held in June to explain the details to retirees, Graham said.

Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union approved wage reductions and other concessions Monday, but GM’s unsecured bondholders have resisted an offer to take a 10 percent stake in the company to wipe out $27 billion in debt. Analysts say it’s unlikely enough bondholders will approve the offer, meaning GM would still be forced into bankruptcy protection by next Monday.

Read more in Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com