Word: uaw
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...same time, an important feature of the latest Detroit dealings is the lopsided favoritism shown the United Auto Workers (UAW). Take the Chrysler plan: Taxpayers were to trade in a $4 billion IOU (i.e., the government loans) for about 5% of Chrysler's stock. The UAW, on the other hand, was trading in a $4.5 billion IOU (related to its VEBA health-care trust for retirees) in return for 55% of Chrysler stock. Does that seem fair? A third group, the secured debt holders, were to trade in a $6.9 billion IOU and get $2 billion in cash - an amount...
Next, look at GM's offer. The unsecured bondholders are owed $27 billion by GM, and they are being asked to trade that IOU for a 10% equity stake. The UAW's VEBA trust, on the other hand, is trading in a $10.2 billion IOU and getting a 39% equity stake. If these were poker chips, you could say the croupier has arbitrarily decided to value bondholders' chips at 37 cents apiece and the UAW's VEBA chips at $3.90 each...
...might argue that given GM's troubled state, the market value of the bonds is not $27 billion but more like $3 billion. But if you accept that troubled-debtor logic, then it's only fair to apply the same logic to the money owed by Chrysler to the UAW's VEBA - so its chips should be marked down as well. (In fact, by law the VEBA's IOU is junior to the bondholders' IOU.) Thus, the VEBA's IOU should not translate into a 39% equity stake but a small sliver of that. (Read about Detroit's attempts...
Chrysler, Fiat and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative labor agreement over the weekend that could provide the troubled American automaker with a better shot at longevity. Though complete details on the UAW accord have not yet been released, the terms are likely to closely resemble Chrysler's new agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers, ratified over the weekend. The Canadian agreement cuts labor costs to the level paid by non-union plants run by Asian companies such as Toyota, or by $19 Canadian dollars per hour...
...tentative Chrysler agreement with the UAW, announced on Sunday, is said to maintain the pension fund and retiree health care fund, though it may include some reduction in healthcare benefits, just as the Canadian agreement does. Guided by the February terms of the original Treasury loans, the deal between the UAW and Chrysler also reportedly includes partial funding of the retiree healthcare trust with equity instead of cash. "We recognize this has been a long ordeal for active and retired auto workers, and a time of great uncertainty," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. The deal was reached, Gettelfinger said...