DETROIT — General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers made progress at the bargaining table Saturday but still faced significant hurdles and ended negotiations for the day without reaching an agreement.
Negotiations ended around 9 p.m. EDT, GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said. They are scheduled to resume midmorning today.
Some union subcommittees, which handle issues such as pensions, benefits and job security, have wrapped up talks, but an agreement wasn’t reached Saturday because negotiators were still dealing with some key issues, according to a person briefed on the negotiations.
That person confirmed that GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger are actively involved in the discussions.
Several union officials who have been in touch with bargainers said the talks are going well but the outstanding issue is retiree health care. GM wants the union to take over responsibility for retiree health care costs using a company-funded trust and the union was asking for job guarantees in exchange for taking on the costs.
GM’s 73,000 U.S. auto workers were without a contract as of midnight Friday and could go on strike at any time if negotiations break down. In Spring Hill, Tenn., hundreds of union members were at the local UAW hall Saturday, waiting for news.
“Members are very apprehensive. These are historic times and everybody realized that,” said UAW Local 1853 President Mike O’Rourke. Workers have faith in the UAW’s negotiating team, he added.
This year’s contract talks are considered crucial to the survival of GM and its U.S.-based counterparts, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. Ford and Chrysler were also in talks over the weekend, but they extended their contracts with the UAW indefinitely Thursday after the UAW named GM the lead company in the negotiations. Once the union wraps up talks with GM it will try to implement similar agreements at Ford and Chrysler.
All three companies want to cut or eliminate what they say is about a $25-per-hour labor cost gap with their Japanese competitors. The gap, the companies say, is one reason why the Detroit Three collectively lost about $15 billion last year, forcing them all to restructure by shedding workers and closing factories.
The UAW is also fighting for its survival. The union represented 302,500 active workers during the last contract talks in 2003. This year, that number fell to 180,681.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said tensions often run high when the union and the automakers dive into the details. “If there aren’t some raised voices and sweaty palms, you’re not doing your job,” he said.
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