DETROIT (AP) -- Because it's in better financial shape, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group won't get the same health care concessions that Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. got from the United Auto Workers, the union's president said Thursday.þþRon Gettelfinger told reporters after a midday speech at the Detroit Economic Club that the union analyzed Chrysler's finances and determined the concessions weren't in the UAW's best interest.þþ''The company is in a different situation than what Ford was in and what GM was in,'' Gettelfinger said.þþHe said there are still ''ongoing discussions'' with Chrysler, but the union isn't interested in the same deal given to the company's domestic competitors.þþChrysler spokesman David Elshoff said Thursday that negotiations are still under way and he and couldn't comment.þþChrysler officials have said that concessions similar to those given to GM and Ford are essential for the company to remain competitive.þþ''Health care costs are our biggest single fixed cost,'' Elshoff said. ''It does represent a disadvantage for Chrysler Group, a disadvantage that no other carmaker in America shares.''þþBut Gettelfinger said he is sure Chrysler officials realize their company is different from its competitors. He said that after the union's analysis was completed, the UAW looked for another way to help Chrysler.þþ''We did not find a responsible path to follow,'' he said, without giving details of what else was discussed.þþ''They know our first obligation is to our membership,'' Gettelfinger said.þþChrysler has said it spent $2.2 billion on health care last year and expects that number to grow to $2.3 billion in 2006. The automaker's health care costs have nearly doubled since 2000.þþUnder the 2005 agreement with GM, hourly workers would contribute $1 per hour in future pay increases to a new fund to help pay for retirees' health coverage. Single retirees would pay up to $370 a year in deductibles and fees for their coverage. And most retirees and all active hourly workers would pay higher co-payments for their prescription drugs.þþIn the deal with Ford, which also was reached last year, retired autoworkers would start paying monthly contributions, annual deductibles and co-payments for some medical services up to a maximum of $370 a year for individuals and $752 for a family.þþHourly workers won't be required to pay deductibles or monthly contributions, but they will have to contribute part of their future wage increases to a trust for future health care expenses. The agreement also raises the cost of prescription drugs and institutes a $50 emergency room fee for retirees.þþGettelfinger likely made his comments because the union's membership would not have approved concessions to Chrysler, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.þþRank-and-file union members made concessions when the company was hurting in the 1990s and don't want to do it again because Chrysler has been profitable, he said.þþBut Cole said the lack of a deal adds $600 per car to Chrysler's costs, and he expects Chrysler to lose money in the next six months.þþ''At some point it's unavoidable that they have to have essentially a similar contract to both Ford and GM,'' he said.þþThe UAW has a history of reaching an agreement with one company, setting the pattern for contracts with the other two, said Greg Saltzman, a labor researcher at the University of Michigan and a professor at Albion College.þþThe union has deviated from the pattern at times when one company was under financial hardship, but Chrysler is a new twist, he said.þþ''Now, if their financial situation is a little healthier, they don't get the same concessions that GM and Ford get,'' he said.þþAlso Thursday, Gettelfinger said there are problems in wage and benefit negotiations among the UAW, struggling auto supplier Delphi Corp. and GM, its former owner.þþ''We're just very frustrated with that mess,'' he said.þþDelphi, which is under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, should be competitive with concessions already agreed to by the UAW, including early retirements and buyouts for hourly workers, Gettelfinger said.þþ''It's simply a matter of greed now,'' he said.þþCal Rapson, the UAW vice president in charge of the Delphi talks, said the three parties are still negotiating.þþ''It makes for very complex negotiations, but we're giving it 100 percent effort to work our way through,'' he said.þþOn Wednesday, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said he remained optimistic that an agreement could be reached, but he called the negotiations complex.þþIn August, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in New York delayed until Sept. 18 a hearing on Delphi's request for permission to scrap its labor contracts and impose lower wages and benefits on hourly workers.þþAbout 12,600 hourly employees represented by the UAW left Delphi under early retirement offers, and more are expected to take buyouts offered by the company and GM by the Sept. 15 deadline.þþShares of DaimlerChrysler AG dropped 66 cents, or 1.3 percent, to close at $51.27 on the New York Stock Exchange.þþ
Source: NY Times
