The United Automobile Workers union has chosen General Motors as its lead company in negotiations on contracts that are set to expire at midnight on Friday, people with knowledge of the union?s decision said on Thursday. The choice may signal the union?s willingness to negotiate on a health care trust, the major demand by GM, the Ford Motor Company and Chrysler. GM has pushed the most heavily for such a trust because it faces a health care liability of about $55 billion for its workers, retirees and their families. The selection of GM as the lead company followed a meeting of the union?s executive board, which is made up of its top officials, including the UAW president, Ron Gettelfinger.
See "U.A.W. Said to Pick G.M. for Contract Negotiations", Micheline Maynard and Mary M. Chapman, The New York Times, September 13, 2007