Hours after Republican senators made the rounds trying to explain why the auto bailout failed, the head of the United Auto Workers, Ron Gettelfinger, lashed out at Republican senators for what he felt were unreasonable demands and called on the White House to act to prevent an industry collapse.
Continue reading below
Gettelfinger in a press conference called Republican talk that the union was to blame for the bailout's failure in the Senate Thursday night "simple subterfuge on the part of the minority ... who wanted to tear down any agreement that we came up with," arguing that the failure was an attempt at union-busting.
All sides seem to agree that the negotiations centered around a proposal by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., that hoped to get bondholders, labor and other stakeholders to agree to take haircuts prior to the companies receiving funding. Corker told CNBC Friday morning that negotiators were "just three words away from a deal," saying that the talks fell apart because the UAW would not agree to a firm deadline for concessions.
Gettelfinger in his press conference said he believed the union was being held to a double standard by lawmakers, saying "we wondered if we were just being set up."
Whether or not there was a plan to break up the union, many in Detroit believe an element of political theater was clearly on display Thursday night. A favorite theory among industry watchers is that Republicans in the Senate had the green light to take a philosophical stand against bailouts, and potentially garner some political capital for the 2010 midterm elections in the process, knowing the White House would step in to ensure that the companies would get the cash they need from the Troubled Asset Relief Plan and would not fail. -
Lou WhitemanSee TheDeal.com's full coverage of the auto bailout debateSee Dealwatch: Autos
