GM, UAW Still Struggling

The United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp., along with major automotive supplier Delphi Corp., kept working toward new labor contracts Wednesday, more than two days after the previous pacts expired.

Employees for both sides reported to work as usual, as they have all week. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has said the sides will remain at the bargaining table until new contracts are agreed upon.

The UAW already has reached tentative terms with Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group and supplier Visteon Corp.

"Talks continue," was the only comment from Luce Rubio, a spokeswoman for Delphi, which has 30,000 UAW workers and employs 20,300 people in Ohio.

GM, the world's largest automaker, has 115,000 active UAW workers and 340,000 retirees and spouses. The company is the largest manufacturer in Ohio in terms of jobs with 21,350 workers.

Gettelfinger said early Monday, when the Chrysler deal was announced, that the contract with the No. 3 U.S. automaker would serve as a model for the others. He reiterated that point late Monday night when tentative pacts with Ford and Visteon were announced.

Still, it's not unusual for the union and automakers to encounter stumbling blocks during negotiations on company-specific issues, and analysts say that's likely what's happened with GM and Delphi.

Delphi was spun off from GM in 1999, and the automaker remains its biggest customer. The union has said it would like for GM to continue buying parts from Delphi as opposed to nonunion suppliers. At the same time, GM is under intense pressure to lower operating costs and conduct business as efficiently as possible.

The UAW, Ford and DaimlerChrysler have declined to discuss specifics of the proposed four-year contracts, but two sources familiar with the deals say they include a $3,000 signing bonus, a lump-sum payment in the second year and wage increases between 2 percent and 3 percent in the third and fourth years. The sources, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said the pacts also include provisions for plant closings or sales.

The union also managed to avoid any radical changes to its low-cost health care insurance program. Co-payments for brand name prescription drugs are expected to double to $10, while co-pays for generics will remain $5, one of the sources said.

Heading into negotiations, Gettelfinger was adamant the union would not move backward on its medical benefits.

In exchange, automakers are expected to have more flexibility in plant closings or divestitures, something both DaimlerChrysler and Ford had sought.

By John Porretto