UAW chief pleads for federal auto bailout

DETROIT, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Domestic autoworkers won't be the only ones to suffer if the three U.S. automakers don't receive federal assistance now, a union leader said Thursday.

Active union members, retirees and spouses would lose healthcare and pension benefits if Detroit's "Big Three" automakers are allowed to fail, said United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger during a news conference.

"Thousands of other businesses would be in trouble" because of their relationships with the automakers," he said. "The current recession would be made much worse. ...To prevent these devastating consequences, the Bush administration and Congress needs to act now, today, to provide an emergency bridge loan."

The proposal backed by the White House and Senate Republicans would amend the already-passed $25 billion federal loan program to allow automakers to use the money for day-to-day operations. A Democratic proposal that would distribute some of the $700 billion in Wall Street bailout funds to automakers was abandoned because it lacked support.

"Inaction is simply not an option," Gettelfinger said. Without federal financial assistance "we could see a collapse of one or possibly more of the domestic auto companies by the end of this year."

Gettelfinger said "it just seems odd" that the government was assisting financial institutions and offering incentives to competitors, but was "willing to walk away" from the U.S. auto industry.

"It's a rough economy," he said. "The (auto) industry's caught up because the consumers are caught up. It's not our fault that the economy is in the tank."