UAW Eyes Give-Backs to Help Big 3 Bailout

The United Auto Workers appears to be easing off its “no more cuts” stance. The union is negotiating a swath of concessions it hopes will convince Congress to loan money to the Big Three, starting with the elimination of its controversial jobs bank, the Detroit Free Press reports. The bank pays laid-off workers, sometimes for years after their dismissal.

The UAW’s willingness to sacrifice comes after congressional leaders roundly rejected automakers’ pitch for a $25 billion rescue yesterday, panning the executives’ performances. “I was, in some ways, embarrassed for them,” said one Tennessee Republican. “They had no plan.” Michigan’s Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow crafted a compromise they believed could pass, but Democratic leadership insisted automakers devise a plausible rebound scenario first. (More United Auto Workers stories.)