UAW OKs GM contract, local says

DETROIT, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The United Auto Workers has ratified its contract with General Motors Corp., a union local in Texas reported on its Web site Wednesday.

UAW local 276 said union workers approved the deal at a rate of 66 percent, while skilled trades workers approved it by 64 percent, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“The General Motors Corp. has been notified today ... that the 2007 UAW/GM National Agreement has been ratified,” the local posted on its Web site. “The effective date of the new agreement will be Monday, Oct. 15, 2007.”

The newspaper said calls to the UAW, headquartered in Detroit, were not immediately returned. A GM spokesman said he was not yet aware of the ratification. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger had set a Wednesday deadline for voting.

Meanwhile, a former union official filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday to fight implementation of the contract should it be ratified. Some oppose the deal because it allows GM to transfer its more than $50 billion in retiree healthcare obligations to an independent trust at a discount and claim it would create a second tier of wages and benefits for non-assembly union workers.