The federal government is forcing Adrian Col-lege, a private school in southeast Michigan, tobuild and renovate facilities after citing it for 11 vi-olations of gender-equality rules, including notadding female locker rooms when it built a new$6.5-million multipurpose stadium.

The college, affiliated with the United Method-ist Church, agreed to a series of changes, includ-ing better pay for coaches of women’s sports andmore public relations stafftime on them. Failure tocomply could cost Adrianany federal aid it receives.The agreement with theU.S. Department of Edu-cation Office of CivilRights caps a three-yearinvestigation.

The college spent$15 million on its athleticsfacilities in recent years but neglected to includeappropriate facilities for female athletes, accord-ing to the federal office. Such a lengthy list of vio-lations is unusual, said Erin Buzuvis, a law profes-sor at Western New England College who blogsabout Title IX, the federal rule that requires gen-der equality in college athletics.

“When the problems are this widespread,that’s an indication (administrators) feel women’sathletics is just some sort of add-on … in a gestureto political correctness,” she told the Free Press.

It’s unclear how much the remedies might cost.Adrian officials wouldn’t return calls, but aspokeswoman said in an e-mail that Adrian iscommitted to gender equality. � COLLEGE LEFT OUT FEMALE SPORTS FACILITIES. 2A

Read thefederal genderdiscriminationcomplaint

O N G U A R D F O R 1 8 0 Y E A R S

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stabbed; he died, and she survived.“Each one of you — Jon, James and Tia —

had opportunity to stop this horrific attackat many different times and chose not to,”Mara Skinner said. “And I will never under-stand why.”

She told her daughter, “I guess I never re-ally knew you at all, and that’sheartbreaking.”

Tia Skinner sobbed as thepictures played and said shenever wanted her parents dead.She apologized. “I wish I couldhave my family back,” she said.

Kurtz and Preston addressedthe court, and Preston asked foran acquittal from 31st CircuitJudge Daniel Kelly. It was de-nied.

“It’s a sad day, but it’s cometo an end now,” Kelly said. � FAMILY MEMBERS SHARE THEIRHEARTBREAK AFTER ATTACKS. 4A

Photos of Paul and Mara Skinner’s wed-ding 25 years ago, family vacations, gradua-tions and a snapshot of Paul Skinner snug-gling on the couch with his children playedon a large screen in a Port Huron courtroomFriday.

Mara Skinner told the threedefendants — including her 18-year-old daughter — that shewanted them to see the lives theydecided to change 10 months ago.

All three were sentenced Fri-day to life in prison without thepossibility of parole. During theirtrials, prosecutors said Tia Skin-ner, 18, was the mastermind be-hind the attack in her family’sYale home last year, while Jona-than Kurtz and James Preston,both 19, carried it out. Paul andMara Skinner were repeatedly

“I will never understand why,” MaraSkinner said Friday of last year’sattacks on her and her husband.

‘I neverreally knewyou at all’

Mom reminds daughter of pain she caused

Photos by MARK R. RUMMEL/(Port Huron) Times Herald

Tia Skinner, 18, cries as she watches a video of her father, Paul Skinner, during sentencing Friday. With her are JonathanKurtz, left, and James Preston, both 19. Prosecutors said Tia Skinner was the mastermind behind the attack in her fami-ly’s Yale home last year, while Kurtz and Preston, carried it out. “I wish I could have my family back,” Skinner said.

By ELISHA ANDERSONFREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Paul Skinner and his wifewere repeatedly stabbed intheir Yale home. He died.

TEENS SENTENCED IN YALE STABBINGS

Late Friday night, the UAW and General Mo-tors reached a deal on a tentative labor agreementcovering 49,000 U.S. workers that gives a long-awaited glimpse into what the post-bankruptcyDetroit auto industry — and union — will look like.

The deal will create an undisclosed number ofnew jobs and sweeten profit sharing. If the termsof the deal are viewed as reasonable, it will likelybe heralded by the backers of GM’s 2009 govern-ment-backed bankruptcy as proof the rescue wasa success.

“This contract will get our members who havebeen laid off back to work, will create new jobs inour communities and will bring work back to theUnited States from other countries,” UAW Presi-dent Bob King said in a statement released justafter 11 p.m. Friday.

While many details of the deal were not imme-diately divulged, the UAW news release sharedsome of the positive highlights of the deal:� The deal includes “significant investments andproducts for our plants.”� “The wages and benefits we negotiated in thistentative agreement reflect the fact that it wasUAW members who helped turn this companyaround.”

GM, UAW REACH DEALNEW JOBS, BETTER PAY AMONG THE TERMS

GET LATEST UPDATES ON FREEP.COM

Union to vote on 4-yearpact that could chart anew path for Detroit 3By BRENT SNAVELY, CHRISSIETHOMPSON AND GREG GARDNERFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITERS

See UAW, PAGE 3A

Contact usDelivery questions: 800-395-3300News tip hotline: 313-222-6600Classified: 586-977-7500; 800-926-8237

CHAMPS!TIGERS CLINCH THEIR 1ST DIVISION TITLE IN 24 YEARS IN OAKLAND SPORTS, 1B

� SATURDAY, SEPT. 17, 2011 WWW.FREEP.COM 3A

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CONTINUING COVERAGE AT FREEP.COM�COVER STORY

“The agreement includes im-proved profit-sharing with fargreater transparency than inthe past.”� “The UAW bargaining com-mittee successfully foughtback efforts to make majorchanges, and weaken, our re-tirement plan.”

The new jobs include oppor-tunities at powertrain plants inWarren and Romulus, as wellas Wentzville, Mo., people fa-miliar with the talks said. GMalso will reopen the formerSaturn Spring Hill assemblyplant, the people said.

Now, the UAW must sell thedeal to its GM members. Localunion leaders will be briefedTuesday. A vote is expected totake place in the next week to10 days.

Thomas Guyton, a 25-yearGM worker now at the Pontiacstamping plant, said he was“pretty confident” the twosides would reach a deal. Hesaid he hoped that GM wouldbe “restoring some of the bene-fits for the retirees and a raiseof some kind for the newhires.”

The four-year deal could setthe competitive tone for theDetroit Three as they continueto recover from the recessionthat sent GM and Chrysler intobankruptcy two years ago.

After kicking off negotia-tions in late July, it was clearthat the UAW was makingmore progress at GM, and bothsides worked toward reachinga deal before the Sept. 14 expi-ration of the 2007 contract.That didn’t happen. Final de-tails were eventually ham-mered out about 11 p.m., afterseveral days in which a dealseemed close, punctuated byan angry letter to King, theUAW president, from Chrys-ler and Fiat CEO Sergio Mar-chionne.

Friday night, both sidesseemed relieved to have a ten-tative deal.

“We worked hard for a con-tract that recognizes the reali-ties of today’s marketplace, en-abling GM to continue to investin U.S. manufacturing and pro-vide good jobs to thousands ofAmericans,” said Cathy Clegg,GM vice president of labor re-lations.

“We’re proud of this agree-ment and are happy that it tru-ly recognizes that the successof the company is tied to thesuccess of the workers,” Kingsaid. “As everyone knows, wehave had, and will continue tohave, some real differenceswith GM. It’s the union’s job tofight for workers and protectour members, and we will con-tinue in that fight.”

Evaluating the new dealKing is expected use the

deal as a guide for talks at GM’scrosstown rivals. Chrysler iswidely expected to be the nextautomaker to reach a deal withthe UAW, followed by Ford,where talks might be compli-cated by the automaker’sstrong turnaround and work-ers’ recent discontent.

In the days ahead, the dealwill be scrutinized by auto-workers, Wall Street and thetaxpayers and politicians whohelped finance the controver-sial 2009 loans to the two auto-makers.

If the terms are viewed asreasonable, the contract andthe new jobs that go with itcould be sold as a victory byPresident Barack Obama andthe Democratic Party, whobacked the automakers whenpublic support was weak.

Rebecca Lindland, an ana-lyst with IHS Automotive inNew York, said perception willbe shaded by the “very fragileeconomy.”

“We’re in unchartered ter-ritory when it comes to negoti-ating a union contract, post-

bankruptcy, when we’re at9.1% unemployment,” she said.“Nobody’s getting signing bo-nuses these days. You’re luckythat you have a job is the line ofreasoning in the non-unionworld these days.

“There’s no downside toputting people back to work,that’s for sure.”

GM likely benefitted by ne-gotiating the first tentativeagreement with the union inthis round of bargaining, thefirst since the financial crisis of2008 and 2009.

“Every company wants togo first and set the pattern,”said Kristin Dziczek, directorof the labor and industry groupat the Center for AutomotiveResearch. Each automakerhas an Achilles heel that theother companies know aboutand that affects negotiationstrategies, she added. For GM,setting the pattern for retireepayouts was important, Dzic-zek said, since the automaker’s400,000 living hourly retireesdwarfs the combined 250,000who retired from Ford andChrysler.

Mindful of taxpayers’ aidIn July, when contract talks

began, GM and UAW leaderssaid they would keep the tax-payer assistance in mind asthey worked on the new con-tract.

“We have a sacred obliga-tion, all of us, to deliver on thepromise and the helping handthat the American public ex-tended to this company in itshour of need,” GM Chairmanand CEO Dan Akerson saidwhen the talks began.

Both sides were also equallyinvested in showing the worldthat they weren’t slipping backinto what might be perceivedas their old ways.

High labor costs — relativeto foreign rivals — and heavyretiree health-care burdenshad helped to drag down theDetroit Three in the years be-fore the financial crisis. Othercontributors: general misman-agement; an over-reliance onlight trucks, especially SUVs;and a reliance on profit-erod-ing incentives that damagedbrand value.

That “old Detroit” para-digm was largely cleaned upduring the restructurings atthe Detroit Three in recentyears. The union did its part,too, agreeing to amend its la-

bor contract with GM andChrysler in 2009 before the au-tomakers’ bankruptcies. Thatdeal brought U.S. wages andbenefits to near-parity withforeign competitors’, endedthe notorious “jobs bank” thatpaid laid-off workers, eliminat-ed cost-of-living raises and re-placed some of the paymentsowed to a union’s health-caretrust with stock.

While GM and Chryslercompleted their makeoverduring quick trips throughbankruptcy, Ford self-fi-nanced its turnaround — a factthat became a proud market-ing point for the automaker.

Healthy and making progressToday, the Detroit Three

are more profitable thanthey’ve been in years, and atfar lower sales volumes.

Consider this: Between2005 and 2008, when the U.S.selling rate generally sur-passed 16 million cars andtrucks, GM and Ford postedlosses that topped $100 billion.

In the first half of the year,when the selling rate wasabout 12.8 million cars andtrucks, GM and Ford made

$5.4 billion and $4.9 billion re-spectively. That’s on top of the$4.7 billion GM made last yearand the $6.6 billion Ford madein 2010.

Chrysler, meanwhile, con-tinues to improve as its newItalian owner Fiat integratesthe management teams andproduct portfolios. But, fornow, it remains the weakest ofthe Detroit Three. Its $254 mil-lion loss through the first halfof the year was largely due torepayment of governmentloans. Chrysler posted a loss of$652 million in 2010.

Given those profits, theUAW’s King said he saw noreason for additional conces-sions and declared that auto-workers deserved to benefitfrom automakers’ newfoundprofits.

The automakers haven’t ob-jected to that notion, but haveremained firm in their opinionthat the reward be shared inways that do not increase theirfixed costs. Wall Street couldsee rising fixed costs as regres-sion into Detroit’s former badhabits.

King, a creative and practi-cal leader, had repeatedly sug-

gested that the two goals werenot adversarial and remainedpositive that a deal could bereached that achieved goals onboth sides.

He also was aware that acontentious round of negotia-tions, or one that gave workerseither too little or too much,could have further tainted theimages of the automakers ortheir union.

Chrysler talks continueAt Chrysler, contention is

still possible, even if a strike isnot. At GM and Chrysler,workers gave up the right tostrike on wages and benefits aspart of the U.S. government’sassistance for the automakers.Any impasse will go to bindingarbitration under the terms ofthat deal.

The scathing letter Mar-chionne sent to King onWednesday could signal trou-ble or just a momentary flare-up. Marchionne criticizedKing for failing to show up to apreviously scheduled meetingto negotiate the contract afterMarchionne flew back fromGermany.

Even without Marchionne

and King, talks between theUAW and Chrysler werescheduled to continue throughthe weekend, under a continu-ation of the outgoing 2007 con-tract. And Marchionne was ex-pected to return to the tableTuesday.

Today’s new agreementwith GM could also give Kingthe opportunity to convinceChrysler that he is more of apartner than an adversary andpatch up the relationship.

Ford talks to resume next weekMeanwhile, at Ford, no bar-

gaining is planned for theweekend, although it’s expect-ed to resume next week. Bar-gainers there have maintaineda slower pace than at GM andChrysler.

Ford and the UAW have in-definitely extended the con-tract they reached in 2007.

Talks in Dearborn are ex-pected to be more complicat-ed. For one, Ford’s turnaroundis regarded as strong. It’s beenprofitable since 2009 and it hasgained market share and confi-dence under CEO Alan Mulal-ly’s “One Ford” plan.

Ford will likely push to getits labor deal competitive withthose at GM and Ford, wherethe UAW was able to get moreconcessions out of its membersto assist with the 2009 bank-ruptcies.

In early 2009, Ford gotworkers’ cost-of-living allow-ances suspended and eliminat-ed its jobs bank. After GM andChrysler’s bankruptcies, how-ever, the Dearborn automakersought to get a similar no-strike clause and an entry-levelwage freeze.

But workers overwhelm-ingly voted down that propos-al, despite the promise of a$1,000 bonus. The UAW hassince filed a grievance againstFord over the reinstatement ofmerit pay for salaried workers,claiming unequal treatmentfor their hourly counterparts.That grievance remains out-standing.

With a strike out of thequestion at GM and Chrysler,Ford is the only automakerthat faces the possibility of astrike this year. Workers atFord have already authorizeda strike, a routine step, al-though national strikes arerare.� CONTACT BRENT SNAVELY: 313-222-6512OR BSNAVELY@FREEPRESS.COM

UAW AND GM REACHDEAL ON CONTRACTFROM PAGE 1A

WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press

While all of the terms of the tentative agreement between General Motors and the UAW have not been disclosed, the UAW said that GM will invest more in plants, improve profit-sharing and would not make major changes that would have weakened the retirement plan. A union vote on ratifying the contract is expected in the next week to 10 days.

ERIC SEALS/Detroit Free Press

Thomas Guyton of Bloomfield Township said before the deal late Friday, "I think it’s going to go peacefullyand with these days in front of us, having a job is a good thing."

News+Views‘A GOVERNOR’S STORY’

He said/she saidon Granholm,Mulhern book

The Free Press’ Brian Dick-erson and the Detroit News’Laura Berman review the newmemoir by Jennifer Granholmand Dan Mulhern. 21A

EntertainmentFALL TV PREVIEW

Smart drama and coolcomedy coming up. 1F

2007 photo by KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DFP

Dan Mulhern is coauthor of formerGov. Jennifer Granholm’s memoir.

O N G U A R D F O R 1 8 0 Y E A R S

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& Macomb counties)

Has the time come for Michi-gan, one of the wellsprings ofthe American labor movement,to join 22 states in which em-ployees can’t be compelled tojoin unions or pay union dues?

You bet, argue a significantand influential number of statelawmakers — all Republicans.

Not a chance, counter mi-nority Democrats.

Then there are others, in-cluding Gov. Rick Snyder, whoare wary of the turmoil a right-to-work debate would ignite.

Their preference is to talkabout something else.

Nonetheless, prospects forright-to-work legislation inMichigan — prohibiting ar-rangements under which em-ployees pay union dues or agen-cy fees as a condition of employ-ment — are better than ever.Advocates such as state Rep.Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake,say they believe it is the singlemost important step state pol-

icy makers could take to spurjob creation in a state with an11.2% unemployment rate.

Opponents say enactingwhat they call right-to-work-for-less would erode what’s leftof Michiganders’ financial se-curity.

The state Senate could takeup a bill as early as this week toend compulsory union mem-bership for teachers. But Shir-key and his allies say it may betime to go for broke.

“If providing labor freedomto teachers is a good idea … whyisn’t providing labor freedom tobus drivers and steelworkersjust as good?” he asked.� CHANGE WOULD BE TOUGH TOPULL OFF, SOME SAY. 7A

Right-to-workdebate firesup in state

GOP SAYS MICHIGAN MAYBE NEXT; DEMS SAY NO WAYBy DAWSON BELLFREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU

Should Michigan be aright-to-work state? Shareyour opinions and see whatour other readers think.

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Both General Motors andthe UAW can claim victo-ries with the tentative la-bor contract they reachedFriday night after seven

weeks of sometimes-exhaustingnegotiations.

GM is giving workers $5,000signing bonuses, adding thou-sands of jobs and dishing out a $3-an-hour raise for entry-level work-ers. But by adding more low-cost,entry-level workers, buying outhighly paid skilled-trades workersand denying the union a cost-of-living adjustment, GM should beable to build each car more cheap-ly for years to come.

Ultimately, that will mean big-ger profits — and pay — for the au-tomaker and its workers.

“Labor costs are going to godown if what’s leaking out is true.And the workers are going to gain.That’s quite the accomplishment,”

said Kristin Dziczek, director ofthe labor and industry group atthe Center for Automotive Re-search.

The UAW has declined to re-lease details of the labor agree-ment until it rolls out the contractto members starting Tuesday.

A statement issued Fridaynight gave a hint of the union’s toptalking points, saying bargainershad secured new jobs, work forplants and improvements in prof-it-sharing. The union also said ithad protected pensions and healthcare benefits from cuts.

But several people familiarwith the pact laid out its details tothe Free Press.

The deal will add new jobs, in-cluding about 400 at Warren po-wertrain and an unspecified num-ber at other factories, includingRomulus powertrain, Wentzville,Mo., and Spring Hill, Tenn., whichwill reopen, two of the people said.

The Wentzville plant had beenexpected to add up to 2,000 jobs tobuild the next-generation Chevro-let Colorado and GMC Canyonsmall pickups, contingent uponthe completion of a tax incentivepackage approved last week by

CHRYSLER, FORD UP NEXT

GM AND UAW: DEAL ISA VICTORY FOR ALL

WORKERS:Pay hike for

entry-level hires

RETIREES:No major change

in benefits

AUTO JOBS:More work at

plants

Det

roit

Fre

e Pr

ess

illus

trat

ion;

file

pho

tos

GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson, left, and United Auto Workers President Bob King began official contract talks in July.

TITLE MAKES TIGERSTHE CAT’S MEOW DREW SHARP: TEAM CAME TOGETHER, WAS RESOLUTE SPORTS 1C

TOM WALSH

DEAL LOOKSGOOD, BUTCHALLENGESREMAIN 9A

SUSAN TOMPORWall Streettakes stock ofnew UAW-GMagreement 9A

MARK PHELANDeal shouldhasten shift inautomaker’slineup 10A� More analysis,reaction inside.

Contract detailsThe UAW plans to release de-tails of its tentative contractwith GM members this week.But people familiar with the dealindicate it includes the followingprovisions:� A $5,000 signing bonus� Profit-sharing based on incomefrom all GM’s North Americanoperations, not just the U.S.� Increase in second-tier wage ofabout $3 an hour over four years� No major changes in retireebenefits� Thousands of new jobs

1ST POST-BANKRUPTCY CONTRACT TOADD THOUSANDS OF JOBS, CUT COSTS

By CHRISSIE THOMPSONFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

See CONTRACT, PAGE 8A

Come back 24-7 for breaking news on Chrysler, Ford talks.

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Think of the ongoing UAWauto contract talks as a

nine-inning baseball game,with the union and Detroit’scar companies as teammates.A victory for the team wouldbe three deals reached peace-ably, without a strike or bind-ing arbitration.

Friday’s late-night tenta-tive contract deal with Gener-al Motors was a good start,but it’s still only the thirdinning.

Despite an early bobble atthe outset Wednesday be-tween Fiat and Chrysler CEOSergio Marchionne and UAWPresident Bob King, pinningdown a GM-UAW deal twodays later was like a home runthat helped establish a lead

and some momentum.

Chrysler is the wild cardNow come the perilous

middle innings, presumablywith the focus shifting toChrysler.

In baseball, middle reliev-ers are, by definition, the mostunpredictable pitchers on thestaff. They’re not as good as

the starters, otherwise they’dbe in the rotation. And they’renot deemed as reliable as thelate-inning closers.

Chrysler is in that role —an unpredictable wild card inthese 2011 contract talks.

It’s the smallest and leastprofitable of the DetroitThree, and its leaders havebeen hinting that they are notafraid to force difficult issuesto binding arbitration. Mar-chionne, the globe-trottingItalian-Canadian CEO, can bealternately brilliant, philo-sophical, profane and grumpy— sometimes in the samecell-phone call.

His testy letter Wednesdayto King, chafing at the UAWchief’s decision not to leave

the GM bargaining table thatnight for a meeting with Mar-chionne, created a stir — butthat will be a minor footnote ifa UAW-Chrysler deal getsdone without further publicrancor once the CEO returnsto town Tuesday.

Saving Ford for the finale The UAW is presumably

saving Ford for last — thecloser — for a couple reasons:� Ford has for decades beenthe union’s most steadfast andreliable partner among theDetroit Three. Long-standinggood relations between Exec-utive Chairman Bill Ford Jr.and UAW leaders King, hispredecessor Ron Gettelfingerand current Vice President

Jimmy Settles have helpedforge a bond of trust.� The Dearborn automaker isalso in a markedly differentfinancial and tactical positionthan its crosstown rivals. Forddid not take government res-cue cash in 2009, and itsworkers didn’t endorse theno-strike and binding arbitra-tion clauses imposed upon GMand Chrysler. Ford also car-ries more debt than the othertwo, whose balance sheetswere wiped clean in Chapter 11bankruptcy.

So it makes sense for theUAW to first forge a contractframework that works for GMand Chrysler, then adapt it toaddress Ford-specific issues,relying on long-standing good-

will with Ford to pull it off.Returning to the baseball

analogy, victory is never as-sured until the last batter isretired. Even the Tigers’ Jus-tin Verlander, baseball’s bestpitcher this year, has lost ahandful of games.

Big challenges remain forthe UAW and Detroit Three inthese critical talks, as theysearch for a formula that af-fords workers a fair share ofthe financial pie while keepingthe companies lean and flex-ible in a warp-speed, hyper-competitive global economy.

Lots of innings still to play,and nobody can afford to dropthe ball.� CONTACT TOM WALSH: 313-223-4430 ORTWALSH@FREEPRESS.COM

Auto talks, like baseball games, aren’t over till they’re over

TOM WALSH SAYS GM DEALWAS GOOD START, BUT BIGCHALLENGES REMAIN

General Motors hourlyworkers were impressedwith some of the gains theystand to receive as theylearned of the details of a newtentative UAW-GM deal.

If ratified by workers, thetentative contract is expect-ed to provide a $5,000 sign-ing bonus, an improved prof-it-sharing formula and a $3wage increase for new work-ers, the Free Press haslearned.

“From what I have heard, Ithink it sounds fair under thecircumstances with the waythe economy is and all,” saidRicardo Villarreal, 58, whoworks at Orion Assembly.

While Villarreal was hop-ing for a buyout option forproduction workers, his mainconcern was wages.

“I wanted to see my wagenot change, to stay what ithad been,” Villarreal said.

In 2009, GM was preparedto close Orion Assembly untilthe UAW agreed to allow thecompany to hire up to 40% ofthe work force as entry-levelworkers. Now, that plantmakes the Sonic, GM’s newsubcompact car.

Thomas Guyton, a long-time GM worker at the Ponti-ac stamping plant, said he isimpressed with the wage in-crease for entry-level work-ers and satisfied with the

signing bonus.“All of that sounds good,”

Guyton said. “The only thingthat disappoints me slightlyis I would have hoped that thenew profit-sharing formulawould be on worldwide basis.GM is doing some serious ex-pansion in China, and GMleads the way there.”

Under the tentative agree-ment, annual profit-sharingchecks will be based on GM’sNorth American profits in-stead of U.S. profits.

Now that the union hasreached an agreement withGM, it likely will turn its at-tention to Chrysler. TheUAW agreed to extend itscontracts with Chrysler andFord last week while it fin-ished discussions with GM.

Henry Salazar of Clark-

ston said he is hoping Chrys-ler workers can get a dealsimilar to the GM contract.

“I’m sure the Internation-al (UAW) negotiated the bestdeal that they could,” said Sa-lazar, who works for Chrys-ler’s Mopar division in Cali-fornia. “I would ratify it if Iwere them.”

GM’s retirees, however,were disappointed to learnSaturday that the union’stentative agreement isn’t ex-pected to provide a gain inbenefits.

“It doesn’t surprise me,because once they get you outthe door, they just forgetabout you,” said Rudy Pur-due, 56, of Arlington, Texas.“As soon as I got out of there,I got screwed out of my den-tal and vision coverage.”

The UAW agreed in 2009to eliminate dental and visioncoverage for retirees as partof the terms of emergencyloans provided when thecompany went throughChapter 11 bankruptcy.

In January 2010, the re-sponsibility for all retireehealth care benefits wasshifted to the UAW RetireeMedical Benefits Trust. Thattrust was funded initially bypayments from GM, but is nolonger managed by the com-pany.

GM continues to manageretiree pensions, and retireeswere hoping to be reim-bursed in some way for thedental and vision benefitsthey gave up in 2009.

GM has more than400,000 retirees — far morethan Ford and Chrysler —and even a small lump-sumpayment or additional pen-sion benefit would cost thecompany millions of dollars.

Leading up to the an-nouncement of Friday’s ten-tative agreement for a newfour-year contract, SamuelCone, vice chairman of theretiree chapter of UAW Lo-cal 492 in Portland, Ore., saidhe was worried that retireeswould not see any gains.

“It was implied therewould be very little,” Conesaid.� CONTACT BRENT SNAVELY: 313-222-6512OR BSNAVELY@FREEPRESS.COM

Hourly workers react

ERIC SEALS/Detroit Free Press

General Motors employee Thomas Guyton of Bloomfield Township said he is impressed with the wage increase for entry-level workers andsatisfied with the $5,000 signing bonus. Guyton started working at the Pontiac stamping plant in 1979. “Having a job is a good thing,” he says.

NEW DEAL SOUNDING GOOD WAGES BIG CONCERN FOR MANY EMPLOYEESBy BRENT SNAVELYFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The tentative agreementbetween the UAW and

General Motors could bewelcome news on factoryfloors. But Wall Street willbe watching closely Mondayfor more details — and someanalysts question how muchauto stocks could speedahead from here.

In what was, overall, afavorable week for the stockmarket as Europe’s debtproblems appeared closer toresolution, General Motorsclosed Friday at $22.61 ashare, down 9 cents. Fordclosed at $10.62, off a penny.

Some analysts say autostocks could still be heldback by fears of recession inthe U.S., Europe or even thechance of a deeper globaleconomic downturn.

Jim Cramer, host ofCNBC’s “Mad Money,” saidauto stocks could meanderhigher because they’ve be-come so cheap after thesummer sell-off.

“But you need a resolu-tion in Europe to feel betterabout them,” Cramer toldme in an e-mail. He notedthat GM and Ford both havea large business on the con-tinent.

Boost for Main StreetOn Main Street, profit-

sharing checks, signingbonuses and wage gains forsome workers could give abit of a boost to the Michi-gan economy if the agree-ment is ratified by the UAWmembership. Extra cash isextra cash.

While the dollars involvedin the contract may not beoverwhelming for manyUAW families, the slightlyhigher wages for some en-try-level workers can havean economic impact on met-ro Detroit and other commu-nities “where auto manufac-turing makes up a signif-icant part of the employ-ment base,” said KurtRankin, economist for PNCFinancial Services Group.

The reality is that manypeople aren’t getting evenslight increases in wagesthese days — given the highjobless rate, continued cut-backs at many companiesand the competition for jobopenings.

“Contracts that includewage increases would putmore money in workers’pockets, thereby providing

the foundation for increasedconsumer spending locally,”Rankin said.

The primary beneficiariesare likely to be grocerystores, clothing stores, res-taurants and services suchas haircuts.

Raise to cover necessitiesWorkers hired under the

two-tier wage system make$14-$16 an hour. Union lead-ership has said that’s not aliving wage — so some of theraises would certainly covernecessities, not luxury items.UAW workers, like everyoneelse in this tough economy,are dealing with debt anddramatic declines in homevalues, so added moneycould go to pay bills andboost savings.

The UAW agreed to cre-ate a two-tier wage systemin 2007, which allowed thecarmakers to hire newworkers at about half thepay of veteran employees.

About 4,000 of the 112,000workers at GM, Ford andChrysler are in the lowersecond-tier system. Auto-makers may hire more peo-ple at the lower pay scale asolder workers retire.

How much workersspend of signing bonuses orextra wages, though, willdepend on how confidentthey feel about their jobs,the outlook for the autoindustry and the trend forauto stocks.

Positive production outlookMike Jackson, senior

manager for North Ameri-can vehicle production fore-casting and analysis for IHSGlobal in Northville, saidIHS forecasts expect NorthAmerican light vehicle pro-duction to finish at 12.9 mil-lion — up from 11.9 millioncars and trucks in 2010.

The economic and politi-cal headwinds, though, couldcreate more uncertainty forthe auto industry, even witha new UAW contract.

The forecast for autoshas been volatile followingthe impact of the earthquakeand tsunami in Japan andthe mounting jitters thissummer about the U.S. andglobal economies.

Jackson said the outlookremains quite favorable,though, considering that onemillion units of output willbe added in 2011 — and it’sestimated that productionwill climb to 13.84 millionunits in 2012. The restruc-turing in the industry meansthat, going forward, theprospects for higher profit-ability are greatly improved,he said.� CONTACT SUSAN TOMPOR: 313-222-8876OR STOMPOR@FREEPRESS.COM

Wall Street analysts take stock asUAW, GM contract takes shape

SUSAN TOMPOR SAYS AUTOWAGE GAINS COULD BOOSTMICHIGAN’S ECONOMY

the town’s Board of Aldermen.

New workers, lower labor costsGM has promised to add or

retain about 13,000 U.S. jobssince its 2009 bankruptcy,with about two-thirds of thosestill to be filled. Once the com-pany has recalled the remain-ing 570 workers it has on lay-off, it will commence hiringnew workers.

New hires will join the ranksof second-tier workers, whocurrently make about $14 to $16an hour. That compares withthe roughly $28 an hour madeby people hired before fall2007, when the union agreed tolet the Detroit Three pay a low-er starting wage.

Even if workers ratify thenew contract, earning second-tier workers a $3-an-hour raiseover four years, growing thenumber of lower-cost workerswill lower GM’s overall cost ofproducing each car. The auto-maker is planning to increaseproduction, anticipating U.S.sales will continue their slowincrease from the quarter-cen-tury low levels of 2009.

View from Wall StreetGM also will reduce labor

costs if higher-paid skilled-trades workers take its upcom-ing buyout offer. Improved ef-ficiency in GM’s plants andequipment requires fewer andfewer electricians, for in-stance. Continuing to employso many skilled workers hurtsthe company’s bottom line, es-pecially when unneededtradespeople are shifted to theproduction line, where theymake their standard wage ofabout $32 an hour to do thework of regular productionworkers.

Paying for the buyout, alongwith funding the more than$240 million in signing bonus-es, is expected to be embracedby Wall Street, since GM has

nearly $34 billion in cash onhand.

GM also will not see a hit inits contributions to retirees.Retiree benefits will see nocuts, although the contract hasno real gains for retirees, ei-ther, two people familiar withthe pact said. Changes to theretirees’ health, dental and eyebenefits would come throughthe union-run health caretrust, not GM.

Goals met on both sidesThe gains for workers,

along with the attempt to low-er fixed costs, appear to meetthe goals both the UAW andGM publicized ahead of thestart of talks seven weeks ago.

“To the credit of both par-ties, we were able to workthrough our differences andput together an agreementthat is good both for our mem-bers and for the company,”UAW President Bob King saidFriday in a statement.“Through the collective bar-gaining process, we can pro-vide decent wages, benefitsand employment rights forworkers while ensuring qualityproducts and healthy profitsfor employers.”

Now, the UAW must sell thedeal to its GM members. Sev-eral workers told the FreePress that they predicted aneasy ratification. Local unionleaders will be briefed Tues-day. A vote is expected to takeplace in the next week to 10days.

In July, when contract talksbegan, GM and UAW leaderssaid they would keep the auto-maker’s lifesaving taxpayerassistance in mind as theyworked on their first contractsince GM’s 2009 bankruptcy.

“We have a sacred obliga-tion, all of us, to deliver on thepromise and the helping handthat the American public ex-tended to this company in itshour of need,” GM Chairmanand CEO Dan Akerson said

when the talks began.On Friday, both the UAW

and GM touted the creation ofU.S. jobs, with King saying thecontract would bring workback to the U.S. from othercountries.

A finale for ‘old Detroit’ ways?Both sides also were equally

invested in showing the worldthat they weren’t slipping backinto what might be perceivedas their old ways.

High labor costs — relativeto foreign rivals — and heavyretiree health care burdenshad helped to drag down theDetroit Three in the years be-fore the financial crisis. Othercontributors: general misman-agement; an over-reliance onlight trucks, especially SUVs,and a reliance on profit-erod-ing incentives that damagedbrand value.

That “old Detroit” para-digm was largely cleaned upduring the restructurings atthe Detroit Three in recentyears.

The union did its part, too,agreeing to amend its laborcontract with GM and Chrys-ler in 2009 before the auto-makers’ bankruptcies. Thatdeal brought U.S. wages andbenefits to near-parity withforeign competitors’, endedthe notorious jobs bank thatpaid laid-off workers, eliminat-ed cost-of-living raises and re-placed some of the paymentsowed to the union’s health caretrust with stock.

Today, the Detroit Threeare more profitable thanthey’ve been in years, and atfar lower sales volumes.

U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, aRepublican from HarrisonTownship, said: “This contractdemonstrates that the domes-tic auto industry is comingback strong.”  � CONTACT CHRISSIE THOMPSON: CTHOMPSON@FREEPRESS.COM. STAFFWRITERS AARON KESSLER, BRENT SNAVELYAND GREG GARDNER CONTRIBUTED TO THISREPORT.

CONTRACT: TENTATIVE DEAL CHEERED BY UAW, GMFROM PAGE 1A

More contract detailsThe UAW will not release details of its tentative contract with General Motors until UAW members re-view the details starting this week. But people familiar with the deal indicate it includes the followingprovisions:

� A $5,000 signing bonus.� Profit-sharing based on income from all GM’sNorth American operations, not just the U.S. Thereis a cap, but the amount is not yet clear.� Increase in second-tier wage of about $3 an hourover four years.� No major changes in retiree benefits.� Thousands of new jobs, including those at

Warren powertrain (about 400 jobs)Romulus powertrainSpring Hill, Tenn., assembly (reopens)Wentzville, Mo., assemblyNo changes to plans to close Shreveport, La.,

plant by June 2012.

� Janesville, Wis., assembly remains shuttered.� Buyout offer for skilled-trades workers.� No cost-of-living adjustment.� No wage increases for other hourly workers.� More opportunities to in-source production to GMplants, such as performing more subassembly ofparts in-house.� Former Delphi plants now owned by GM, includingthe one in the Grand Rapids area, will now be gov-erned by the same contract as governs the rest ofGM’s plants.

WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press

GM’s flagship engine plant in Romulus also gets guaranteed newinvestment in the tentative contract.

� SUNDAY, SEPT. 18, 2011 WWW.FREEP.COM 9A

Chevrolet Volt

GM unveils the Chevrolet Volt electric car and plans to build it in 2010.

Cerberus Capital Management and 100 other investors buy 80.1% of Chrysler for $7.4 billion.

Chrysler doesn’t report financial results because it is privately owned, but former parent Daimler, which still owns 19.9% of its former partner, reports that Chrysler lost $2.9 billion in 2007.

GM and Chrysler reach historic contract with the UAW that shifts billions in retiree health care expenses to a union-administrered trust. Contract also lets company pay some new hires $14 an hour.

2007

Crude oil peaks at $145 a barrel. Gas prices soar above $4 a gallon. The housing bubble bursts, leading to the U.S.’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

GM loses $31 billion. Chrysler loses $5 billion through the first nine months of the year.

2008

GM and Chrysler enter bankruptcy. As condition of restructuring, UAW agrees to the following at both companies:

❚ Suspended performance bonus payments for 2009 and 2010, and cost-of-living adjustments.❚ Overtime paid only after 40 hours a week rather than 8 hours a day.❚ Loss of Monday after Easter holiday.❚ Cut in break time from 46 to 40 minutes per shift.

❚ No strike through September 2015. GM and Chrysler can take unresolved contract issues to binding arbitration.❚ No limit on the number of lower-wage employees.

2009

GM completes an initial public offering, raising $20.1 billion.

Chrysler loses $652 million, down from an $8-billion loss in 2009. Excluding the cost of repaying federal loans, it earns an operating profit of $763 million.

2010GM earns $5.4 billion in the first half of the year.

Chrysler reports a net loss of $254 million for the first half, but expects to earn between $200 million and $500 million for the full year.

2011

$7.4 billionn.

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GM loses $38.7 billion, including $39-billion third-quarter charge for unused tax credits. It’s the largest annual loss in auto industry history.

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the year.

GM ends the year with a $4.7-billion profit, its first full-year profit since 2004.

Back from the brink

Source: Auto companies Detroit Free Press

General Motors and Chrysler have traveled a perilous course since negotiating the last national agreement with the UAW. Here are key events and milestones marking a turbulent journey and recovery that remains in its early stages.

GM and Chrysler ask Congress for federal loans to survive because they ran out of cash.

2011

Comparing the contracts

For hourly workers, excluding profit-sharing and each year’s maximum $600 Christmas bonus:

20032007 1999 1996

BONUSES

Here are the highlights of four recent national UAW contracts. The contract covers about 112,000 active workersand more than 500,000 retirees, surviving spouses and dependents at General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Delphi and Automotive Components Holding (formerly Visteon employees).

CONTRACT YEAR

BONUSES BY YEAR

2003: $3,000 signingbonus

2004: Performance bonus worth 3% of previous year’squalified earnings*

2005: None2006: None

1999: $1,350 signingbonus

2000: None2001: None2002: None

$3,000 signing bonus 1996: $2,000 signingbonus

1997: None1998: None

Increases for hourly workers, in addition to Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), by year, as set in the contract:

2003 1999 1996

BASE WAGES

CONTRACT YEAR

WAGE INCREASESBY YEAR

2003: 0%, with a 30cents-per-hourincrease for skilled trades members

2004: 0%2005: 2%2006: 3%

2007No base wage increases, and the UAW agreed to a second-tier entry-level wage of about $14-$15 an hour.

1999: 3%2000: 3%2001: 3%2002: 3%

1996: 0%1997: 3%, with a 30

cents-per-hourincrease forskilled tradesmembers

1998: 3%

2003 19992007 1996

PENSIONSCONTRACT YEAR

CURRENT RETIREES

PAYOUT INCREASE FOR FUTURE RETIREES**

SUPPLEMENT FOR EARLY RETIREES** WITH 30 YEARS OF SERVICE

$4.20 per month per year of credited service (about 9% gain over the life of the contract)

$2.65 per month per year of credited service

Rose to $3,020 per month by the last year of the contract, an increase of $290, or 10.6%.

Got a $1,000 voucher toward the purchase of a new vehicle in 2003 and 2005. Received lump-sum payments of $800 in each of the four years. Surviving spouses got 65% of that amount, or $520. No increase in basic pension.

Lump-sum payments to retirees and surviving spouses from $151-$700, depending on years of credited service.

$4.55 per month per year of credited service (about 13% gain over the life of the contract)

Rose to $2,295 per month by the last year of the contract, an increase of up to $265, or 13.1%.

Got an increase in their basic pension of $1.15 per month per year of credited service. Received lump sums of $480 to $960 in 1997 and 1998, and surviving spouses received 60% of what would have been paid to the retiree.

$7.45 per month per year of credited service (about 19% gain over the life of the contract)

Rose to $2,730 per month by the last year of the contract, an increase of $435, or 19%.

Got an increase in basic pension of $1.25 per month per year of credited service. Received lump sums of $885 to $1,365 in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Surviving spouses received 65% of what would have been paid to the retiree.

HEALTH CARE2007 contractIncluded a historic plan to shift oversight of retiree health care benefits to an independent trust, known as a voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA. The trust removed billions in liabilities from the Detroit Three to the UAW.

2003 contract❚ Enhanced medical coverage in areas such as preventive care, mammography, vision, dental care and well-baby care.❚ Co-pay for generic drugs remained at $5.❚ For brand-name drugs that are medically necessary, the co-pay was $10.

For brand-name medication not medically necessary, $5 co-pay, plus the difference in cost between generic and brand-name.❚ $10 charges for office visits for members enrolled in an HMO.❚ Ceiling on out-of-pocket costs of $250 for individuals, $500 for families.❚ Added full coverage of emergency airlift or ambulance service by boat.❚ HMO requirement dropped.

1999 contract❚ Better coverage in areas such as dental, vision, early detection and cancer screening, childhood immunizations and ambulance services.

❚ Improved standards for and monitoring of HMOs; mandatory HMO enrollment extended to 48 months.❚ Agreement to consider adding same-sex domestic partners as dependents (added in June 2000).

1996 contract ❚ Prescription drug co-pay rose from $3 to $5.❚ Vision, dental and hearing-aid benefits were improved.❚ New hires required to enroll in an HMO, if offered in their areas, for two years.

** Those who retire during the new contract

2003 1999 1996

* Base wages plus COLA, overtime and shift premiums, incentive earnings and paid time off

MISCELLANEOUS

Detroit Free PressSources: UAW, Free Press research

CONTRACT YEAR

OTHER BENEFITS

❚ Maximum duration of market-driven supplemental unemployment benefits extended from 42 weeks to 48 weeks.❚ Four-year contract provides 67 holidays, including election days.❚ Absenteeism policy reduces maximum number of unexcused absences from 12 to 9.

❚ Legal services expanded to include termination of parental rights.❚ Four-year contract provided 67 holidays, including Veterans Days and two election days.

2007❚ Health and safety protections improved. Skilled trades gain 20-cents-an-hour tool allowance and enhanced trainng on new technology.

❚ $1,000 given per year for each retiree to attend classes at plant or union hall.❚ National Training Center developed a Workplace Violence Prevention Program.❚ Three-year contract provided 48 holidays, including Veterans Day in 1998.

8A WWW.FREEP.COM SUNDAY, SEPT. 18, 2011 �

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COVER STORY�2011 AUTO TALKSx x

2011 AUTO TALKS�COVER STORY

10A WWW.FREEP.COM SUNDAY, SEPT. 18, 2011 �

General Motors likely willadd jobs at plants in Romulusand Warren if workers ratifythe tentative four-year agree-ment reached late Friday night.

The $5,000 signing bonus,which will cost GM about $240million, will inject money into

the local economies of commu-nities, a large portion of whichare in metro Detroit, Flint andLansing. If Chrysler and Fordagree to it, there are about56,000 UAW employees inMichigan among the three au-tomakers that could receivethe same amount.

“For every dollar, you canmultiply it by between 1.8 and2.5 times, depending on howmuch is spent in the state, out-side the state or used to pay

back debt,” said David Sower-by, portfolio manager with Loo-mis Sayles.

GM agreed to invest in newproducts and technology, aswell as reopen idle plants, as in-centives to get 48,500 UAWmembers to approve the pact,according to a person familiarwith the agreement.

“This contract will get ourmembers who have been laidoff back to work and will createnew jobs in our communities,”

UAW President Bob King saidin a statement.

UAW leaders will presentmore details of the new invest-ments Tuesday when they brieflocal union officers.

In addition to the Romulusengine and Warren transmis-sion plants, GM will spend toproduce a future product at itsWentzville, Mo., assemblyplant near St. Louis whereworkers now make large rear-wheel drive vans: the Chevrolet

Express and GMC Savana. GMalso will reopen its Spring Hill,Tenn., assembly plant to pro-duce an undisclosed new vehi-cle. The Spring Hill plantclosed in 2009 as part of GM’sbankruptcy restructuring.

“I had not heard anythingabout that,” said Danny Pelis-sier, president of UAW Local163 at GM’s Romulus power-train plant. “I really don’t wantto comment on something I ha-ven’t heard about from our offi-

cials.”About 700 people now work

at the Romulus plant makingV6 and V8 engines for GM’spickups and full-size SUVs.

Warren employs 679 peoplemaking transmissions for theChevrolet Malibu and Tra-verse, the GMC Acadia andBuick Enclave, according toGM’s Web site. Leaders ofUAW Local 909 in Warrencould not be reached for com-ment.

Deal has potential to be lucrative for workers, plants, communitiesSigning bonus, newjobs would be boonBy GREG GARDNERFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The UAW won a pay in-crease for entry-level workersof about $3 per hour over fouryears in the tentative deal withGeneral Motors — marking akey victory for UAW PresidentBob King, who said in Augustthat gaining a wage increase forentry-level workers was his“highest priority.”

Most entry-level workerscurrently earn between $14 and$16 an hour — about half of the$28 per hour that veteran, tier-one workers earn. But the low-er pay scale has been contro-versial and unpopular, evenamong tier-one workers, be-cause it violates the union’slong-held principle of equal payfor equal work.

Manuel Ledesma, 44, ofClarkston, said he is surprisedthat the union made progresswith entry-level wages.

“That actually sounds prettyamazing to me — just to havethe UAW and GM reinstating apay increase to me is kind ofshocking,” said Ledesma, whoworks at Orion Assembly as atier-one worker. “I wanted tolook out for the new generationthat’s coming in.”

However, Gregory Warze-cha, 34, of Clarkston said Satur-day he is not impressed with the$3 increase.

“Unless it is a $5 or $6 in-crease, we are going to push fora no vote in this contract,” saidthe Orion Assembly worker. Hebelongs to an activist groupthat wants to eliminate the twotiers of workers.

The two-tier wage structure

remains a controversial issue inthe UAW even though auto-workers ratified a contract in2007 that allowed the DetroitThree to hire workers for lowerpay. That wage was to start atabout $14 an hour and increaseduring the life of the contract.

In 2009, the UAW agreed tofreeze the starting wage until2015 at GM and Chrysler. Thatconcession was made as the au-tomakers were on the brink ofbankruptcy.

Ford’s entry-level workersstart at $15.51per hour — higherthan Chrysler and GM — be-cause its workers rejected simi-

lar emergency contract modifi-cations in 2009.

While King complained thatworkers who make $14 to $16 anhour barely earn enough to beabove the poverty level for afamily of four, the second-tierpay helped make the DetroitThree more competitive, led tothousands of new jobs and willlikely lead to thousands more.

The UAW is expected to usethe agreement it won with GMas a pattern as it completes ne-gotiations at Chrysler andFord. � CONTACT BRENT SNAVELY: 313-222-6512 ORBSNAVELY@FREEPRESS.COM

Newer GM workers may get lift But $3-per-hourraise for 2nd tier notenough, some sayBy BRENT SNAVELYFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Photos by WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press

Manuel Ledesma, 44, with his sons Andre, 16, left, and Jesse, 21, in their Clarkston home on Saturday. The first-tier GM worker said the pay in-crease in the tentative contract agreement “sounds pretty amazing to me. … I wanted to look out for the new generation that’s coming in.”

Gregory Warzecha, 34, said Saturday that he is not impressed with aprospective $3-per-hour raise. He’s worked for GM for four years.

If workers ratify it, theUAW’s proposed deal with GMwill tie more of their pay to thecompany’s profitability in all ofNorth America, not just theU.S., according to sources fa-miliar with the agreement.

The union also says the prof-it-sharing will be more trans-parent. Indeed, the bonuseswill be based on a simple chartthat lists ranges of profits andcorresponding profit-sharingpayouts. The bonuses will havea cap — that amount hasn’tbeen disclosed — and aren’t

based on other metrics such asquality, which GM executiveshad said throughout the lastyear they were interested inadding.

Earlier this year, GM’s48,500 UAW workers receivedan average of $4,300, based onU.S. profits in 2010 — by far, itslargest payout. Under the newformula, which takes into ac-count pretax profits from GM’splants in Mexico and Canada,that payment would have beenbetween $5,000 and $6,000,one source said.

This is a significant changebecause GM has paid out theleast in profit-sharing of theDetroit Three since the ideawas implemented in 1983.There was no profit-sharing at

GM between 2005 and 2009,when the automaker hemor-rhaged tens of billions of dol-lars. But over 27 years, GMworkers have been paid anaverage of $437 annually, whileworkers at Ford averaged$1,858 and at Chrysler, $1,720.

This year, Ford went be-yond its profit-sharing formu-la, paying workers an averageof $5,000 apiece for 2010’s U.S.profits, a sign of good faith anda demonstration of what the fu-ture could hold.

“They’re tying pay to futureprofitability rather than a stan-dard wage increase each year,”said Gary Chaison, professor ofindustrial relations at ClarkUniversity in Worcester, Mass.“I think the membership will

accept it if it’s promoted by theunion and if plants are keptopen.”

“When GM was struggling,our members shared in the sac-rifice,” UAW President BobKing said in a statement. “Nowthat the company is postingprofits again, our memberswant to share in the success.”

King pushed the issue extrahard this year because GM re-sisted wage increases for vet-eran, first-tier workers. Theagreement will raise hourlywages for entry-level, second-tier workers hired after Sep-tember 2007. Now King andfellow UAW leaders must con-

vince the rank and file thatprofit-sharing will put as manydollars in their pocket as a raisewould.

Including profits from GM’soperations in Canada and Mex-ico should boost the profit-sharing payout. GM makessmall cars and full-size trucksin Mexico, where lower laborcosts help boost those vehicles’profitability. Government-funded health care in Canadatends to drive down manufac-turing costs in that country.

Having workers invested inthose global dynamics couldgive them a more holistic viewof GM’s business.

Change in GM profit-sharing formula could boost checks for UAW workersPayouts had beenlowest in Detroit 3By GREG GARDNERFREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

MARK PHELAN SAYS DEALSHOULD ACCELERATE SHIFTIN AUTOMAKER’S LINEUP

General Motors’ new con-tract with the UAW

should accelerate the auto-maker’s shift to a more fuel-efficient lineup of vehicles,engines and transmissions.The deal affects GM’s produc-tion for the next four years,leading up to demanding newfuel economy standards.

“Americans get really in-terested when you show thema fuel-efficient version of avehicle they already want tobuy,” said Rebecca Lindland,a New York-based analystwith IHS Automotive.

The Colorado small pickupChevrolet displayed at theFrankfurt auto show in Ger-many last week may nowcome to the U.S. Small pick-ups once meant big businessfor American and Japaneseautomakers. Their salestanked in the last few years astheir prices and fuel economybecame less competitive, andfull-size pickups improved.

GM’s technical center inBrazil led development of theColorado with the aim of cre-ating an inexpensive, reliableworkhorse vehicle that couldbe sold around the world.

There’s widespread spec-ulation that GM’s Wentzville,Mo., assembly plant will addthe Colorado pickup duringthe contract’s term. TheShreveport, La., plant thatbuilt the old Colorado andGMC Canyon is slated to closeby next June.

The Spring Hill, Tenn.,assembly plant that was longhome to Saturn is likely tobuild new cars or crossoverswhen it reopens.

Don’t be surprised if thetransmission plant in Warrenis in line to build GM’s neweight-speed automatic trans-missions, which will be vital tohow a range of cars andcrossovers meet future up-coming fuel economy stan-dards.

“More gears equal moreefficiency,” Lindland said.“Transmissions like the eight-speed will be major enablersfor a whole range of futurevehicles.

GM’s flagship engine plantin Romulus also gets guaran-teed new investment.� CONTACT MARK PHELAN: 313-222-67312OR MMPHELAN@FREEPRESS.COM

New contractboon for fuelefficiency

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COVER STORY�2011 AUTO TALKS

1

Detroit Free Press Breaking News entry

We were first to break the news of the GM/UAW deal, posting it on our web site at 11:11 p.m. We posted to Twitter and Facebook a few minutes later. We put it at the top of our site using the Breaking News module.

2

Within a half-hour of breaking the news, we had updated the story and added several links to previous and related stories. We also had the full text of the statement from the UAW about the deal. At this point, we were still way ahead of our competitors.

3

By the next morning, we had a full write-through of the story along with GM and UAW’s statements on the deal. We kept the story in the Breaking News spot since the news was still so fresh and it was the weekend. We wanted to make sure to show our readers its importance.

4

By later in the day, we were able to offer our readers some analysis and look-ahead to Chrysler’s talks with the UAW.

5

We continued to update the story with lots of specific details related to the deal. We had many more details about the deal than our competitors had.

6

By the afternoon, our coverage increased immensely. We had analysis, a column and several stories about the deal and its details with worker reaction. We kept it in this lead Breaking News spot on the web site all day.