UAW President Gettelfinger is a fan of Chrysler’s Marchionne, GM’s Whitacre

Ron Gettelfinger, UAW President, said today that he’s a fan of Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler’s new CEO, and Ed Whitacre Jr., CEO of General Motors. Gettelfinger said that he likes the CEOs because they aren’t a “showboat.”

“They’re down to earth, not a showboat,” he said. “This industry has had too many showboats.”

Gettelfinger, who is on his way to retirement from the UAW in June, said that it wasn’t the union’s fault that GM and Chrysler went bankrupt last year since in his view the union already had made big concessions in 2007. He also said that the union itself does not have ownership stakes in the two companies.

“That’s misunderstood,” he said. “We don’t have an investment in GM and Chrysler. The VEBA [volunteer employee beneficiary association] has an investment in GM and Chrysler. It’s set up with independent trustees, and there are more trustees [in charge] than there are union members.”

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)