Detroit?s traditional Labor Day parade took place on Monday with the biggest questions in contract negotiations between the United Automobile Workers union and the Detroit automakers yet to be answered, less than two weeks before the pacts expire. One question is whether the UAW will agree to the health care overhaul sought by the carmakers ? and its corollary is how much General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler will be willing to pay to make that happen. Contracts expire at midnight on Sept. 14, so talks are expected to pick up this week and accelerate toward the deadline. For now, however, the ball is in the UAW?s court, according to people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
See "For U.A.W., a Year of Uncertainty", Nick Bunkley and Micheline Maynard, The New York Times, September 3, 2007