The United Auto Workers, one of the largest labor unions in North America, have endorsed a plan to create a $140 billion asbestos compensation fund. Exposure to asbestos has been linked to cancer and other diseases. The compensation fund would be financed by companies facing asbestos lawsuits and their insurers, while taking away the rights of victims to sue.
See "Auto Workers Union Backs U.S. Asbestos Fund Plan", The New York Times, April 13, 2005