Gettelfinger: The key to the Chrysler Caper

Edward Lapham is the executive editor of Automotive News. He writes commentaries for Automotive News online every business day. His commentaries also can be found here.

EDWARD LAPHAM COMMENTARY 4/12/2007

Edward Lapham | Automotive News / April 12, 2007 - 4:34 pm

It's the kind of plot around which epic novels or TV miniseries are built: UAW President Ron Gettelfinger may be the most significant character in the Chrysler Caper.

Under a different set of life circumstances, past UAW leaders such as Walter Reuther, Leonard Woodcock and Doug Fraser could have been captains or lieutenants of industry. But they wielded their industrial power from the other side of the bargaining table.

In the current saga, which will determine the fate of the Chrysler group, Gettelfinger has a different kind of power.

Gettelfinger is a member of DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board, which will turn thumbs up or down on any spinoff of the Chrysler group, and he seems to have the support of the German labor leaders who also sit on that board.

But before any potential deal gets to the supervisory board, it needs to be blessed by Gettelfinger. That's because any potential buyer or investor must find a way to reduce health care and pension costs in a way that is acceptable to Chrysler's rank and file, or risk choking on legacy costs incurred by previous owners.

That gives Gettelfinger a lot of leverage.

Not since Doug Fraser helped in the Chrysler Corp. bailout nearly three decades ago has a UAW leader been in such a pivotal position. Back then, Fraser persuaded workers to accept a temporary wage reduction so Chrysler could get the federal loan guarantees needed to stay solvent because it was in the best interest of Chrysler workers.

It's trickier this time.

This year's labor contract negotiations between the UAW and each of the Detroit 3 will go a long way toward determining the future of the industry, not just Chrysler. And many of the thorny issues facing would-be investors will confront negotiators later in the year.

Of course, it can be tough, before negotiations even officially begin, to give assurances about what ultimately will be settled at the bargaining table. And you know that if the UAW does anything to accommodate a Chrysler deal that remotely resembles a concession on benefits, General Motors and Ford will want the same deal.

But if Gettelfinger helps shape a deal that keeps Chrysler intact -- either as part of DaimlerChrysler or with a new owner -- and comes out of negotiations with contracts that protect jobs and reasonable benefit levels, you can expect to see Richard Gere or Sean Penn play him on TV next year.