Word: unionism
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Thousands of Opel workers in Germany are breathing a huge sigh of relief after the last-minute deal to rescue GM's European operations. German unions had always supported Austrian-Canadian company Magna International's takeover of GM Europe, wary that the rival bid from Fiat was just an attempt, as one union official put it, to "pinch German engineering." The unions regard Magna as an innovative company that put forward the best plan to secure the long-term future of Opel. At the carmaker's headquarters in the town of Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt, workers were hugging friends...
...German union leaders insist other European countries will play a role in future negotiations with Magna over the restructuring. "We need a pan-European solution and I'm sure other European countries will come up with loan guarantees in the future when the new group under Magna is reshaped," says Klaus Franz. But it could be months before GM's workers in Europe find out what its new owners have in store for them...
...Even within the UAW, that note of selfless sacrifice rings a little less than true: "The government made us do it," says a union official...
...Meanwhile, many union members fear this is only the beginning of the cuts that will be imposed on retirees, who were once promised health-care benefits for life. "This is very, very painful for the union," says Harley Shaiken, a labor expert from the University of California, Berkeley. "It's a huge risk because the VEBA could run out of money if these companies don't do well," he said...
...union, the hope is that nothing is really ever locked in stone since agreements can always be renegotiated. Says Conway: "The important thing for the union is they live to fight another...