UAW trust to get up to 20 percent of GM shares
Written on May 27, 2009
DETROIT — General Motors Corp. will give the United Auto Workers up to 20 percent of its common stock, $6.5 billion of preferred shares and a $2.5 billion note to fund a trust that will take over retiree health care costs starting next year as part of an agreement the automaker made while it tries to reorganize outside of bankruptcy.
The union’s trust also will get a seat on GM’s new board of directors, although that seat will have to vote at the direction of the other independent directors. Plant-level union officials met in Detroit on Tuesday to hear details of the agreement that GM, the UAW and the government reached last week. Several local presidents said after the briefing that they voted unanimously to recommend that members approve the concessions when they vote today and Thursday.
Local UAW leaders say the health care trust fund agreement did not identify 14 factories that GM intends to close. Those are part of GM’s restructuring plan to be submitted to the government by a Monday deadline, said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the meeting have not been presented to union members no fax cash loans. The company did commit to reopening three closed assembly plants and one stamping factory if demand warrants, according to the summary sheet. Those factories were not identified.
Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union earlier this week approved wage reductions and other concessions in an attempt to allow GM to reorganize outside of bankruptcy court, but GM’s unsecured bondholders have resisted an offer to take a 10 percent stake in the company to wipe out $27 billion in debt. Analysts say it’s unlikely enough bondholders will approve the offer, meaning GM would still be forced into bankruptcy protection by Monday. GM’s bondholders have argued that the offer they’ve received gives them too small a stake for the amount they are owed.
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