Big 3 Ponder Pawning Health Care On Unions
There's a silver lining in the Detroit automakers' financial distress. Things appear so bad that the companies and their main labor union might agree to something radical.
Right now, a growing burden of retiree health care costs is one of the biggest challenges facing Ford, General Motors, and a soon-to-be-independent Chrysler.
That liability one not shared by competitors like Toyota and Honda goes a long way toward explaining why German-based DaimlerChrysler views its Chrysler Group as a clunker to be sold no matter the price. And it explains why the private investment firm Cerberus had to offer so little this month to become the buyer.
In this climate, a once-unthinkable idea is being seriously discussed: In effect, spin the health care problem off to the labor union.
