UAW may give Chrysler healthcare deal

Chrysler may get the same healthcare concessions from the United Auto Workers that its Detroit-based competitors received two years ago.

Union President Ron Gettelfinger said Monday that the UAW must find a way to give Chrysler a deal similar to what it gave Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. in 2005.

“We’ve been talking to Chrysler quite frequently. We do need to find a way to fix the problem there now that Chrysler is in a downward mode,” Gettelfinger said on a Detroit radio show.

Chrysler’s parent, Germany’s DaimlerChrysler, announced last month that it would sell a controlling stake in its ailing U.S. operations to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Analysts have said Cerberus would be likely to demand deeper concessions from the union than Daimler would have.

The UAW in 2005 gave healthcare concessions to Ford and GM that saved the companies billions of dollars but refused to do the same for Chrysler because of its stronger financial condition at the time.

In 2005, Chrysler Group made $1.8 billion, but its fortunes turned when gasoline prices rose to about $3 a gallon and buyers started to shun its truck-based models. The company said it lost $618 million in 2006 and $1.98 billion before interest and taxes during the first quarter of this year.

Gettelfinger said in March that the UAW had finished a review of Chrysler’s finances to determine whether the concessions were warranted. He would not discuss the review in detail.

He did say Monday that Chrysler had problems that needed to be addressed.

UAW spokesman Roger Kerson would not comment beyond Gettelfinger’s remarks, and Chrysler spokeswoman Michele Tinson had no comment.