Scanning online news: Detroit automakers looking at transferring retiree healthcare to UAW
July 06, 2007
From this morning's Detroit News: Carmakers are trying to get UAW to buy into changing healthcare paradigm for its retirees. Under this proposal, the union would use money from a Big Three trust fund to pay these costs which are making U.S. cars less competitive.
The proposal would be based on an agreement between Goodyear, the tiremaker, in Akron, Ohio where such an arrangement is in the process of being implemented.
According to the story:
"GM, along with Ford and Chrysler, will spend more than $10 billion on healthcare this year--more than they will spend on steel, by some estimates.
"A study by the Troy-based Harbour-Felax Group found that healthcare costs add as much as $1,4000 to the price of vehicless produced by Detroit automakers compared to those made by their Japanese rivals."