Corporate Governance

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has done its job to resuscitate General Motors, the union's president claimed Monday.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger acknowledged that his organization had taken a hit in renegotiating its contract with GM, but said he expected the company to rebound with minimal government interference.

"We have stepped up to the plate," Gettelfinger said during an appearance on the Fox Business Network. "We believe we've done what we think was necessary to help this company."

The union leader said that the government would benefit from getting involved in GM while the automaker was at its weakest point, as well.

"I think you'll see the government step back," he said on CNBC. "And I do believe this: By beginning this with the floor, and then moving forward -- I think it's going to rebound quicker than what most people would expect. Unless the whole country collapses, I think you'll see that."

Gettelfinger maintained that the UAW would be on board with whatever products GM plans in the future, but dismissed critics who've asserted unions are in part to blame for GM and Chrysler's financial woes.

"Are the people that are pointing fingers at the UAW also giving us credit for what's going on at Ford Motor Company?" he asked. "There's enough finger-pointing been going on the past, it's time to move forward."

The two interviews can be seen in full after the jump. Read more...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce critiqued the Obama administration's decision to provide addition support to General Motors, worrying that the government had already unduly influenced the automaker's operations.

The leading business group apparently did not take the administration's claims Sunday night that it wanted to be as uninvolved as possible in GM's operations at face value.

"Our biggest concern with the restructuring plan expected to be announced later today is the potential for governments and unions to influence production, product, workforce, and management decisions in ways that could jeopardize the automakers

The United Auto Workers union approved a modified contract with General Motors that should clear the way for the troubled automaker to declare bankruptcy soon.

74 percent of the union's members voted in favor of the new contract, which includes cost-cutting concessions to GM but will give the union a large equity stake in the reconstituted company.

The company will save $1.3 billion a year under the new plan, the UAW told the Detroit Free Press.

The agreement marks a series of agreements GM has made in recent days and weeks with the union, its bondholders, and other parties in order to file for an expected bankruptcy. The deadline for GM to submit new restructuring plans to the administration falls on Monday.

The leading lobbying group for bankers wrote Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Friday opposing the proposed so-called "bank czar."

American Bankers Association (ABA) President Edward Yingling wrote Geithner, arguing that a single regulator for banks would disrupt the "dual banking system," by which state and federal banks face different regulations at those levels.

"The ABA is adamantly opposed to this concept because we believe it would, as a practical matter, be the end of a true dual banking system," Yingling wrote.

As the Obama administration mulls an overhaul for the U.S. banking system, the ABA also argued that the new regulator should be under the supervision of the Federal Reserve, and said that new consumer protection agency for financial services would be unnecessary.

In particular, Yingling opposed the idea that the FDIC oversee the new regulatory scheme, preferring a council of regulators chaired by the Fed instead.

Maintaining support for the domestic auto industry is a critical national security issue, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) asserted Thursday.

"I don't see this as being a Democrat-or-Republican issue," Kucinich said of the auto industry's health during an appearance on Bloomberg News, "I see it as a national security issue."

"America has to have the capacity to make the cars, steel, aerospace, and to make ships -- otherwise we can't defend this country," the Cleveland-based Democrat explained. "And somehow, that's not even being included in the discussion."

Kucinich's district is one of many in the rust belt affected by the downturn in auto manufacturing. President Obama's cabinet members will visit Cleveland and other Midwest cities next week.

Kucinich also urged Obama to become more involved in GM and Chrysler's day-to-day operations, so that the companies would better favor workers.

"I'm not for the government running these industries," he said. "But I'll tell you one thing: if we own it, we ought to be running it," he added of the companies.

"And we ought to be running it in the interest of the American workers and the American taxpayers," Kucinich continued. "The administration has a responsibility to get involved in the day to day operations."

The Obama administration cabinet will span across the Midwest all next week in an effort to reach out to communities affected by the downturn in the auto industry.

Eight cabinet secretaries will join three high-ranking officials and Auto Recovery and Workers Director Ed Montgomery in a tour of sites in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin as General Motors prepares what may be the largest industrial bankruptcy in American history.

"At each event, they will discuss immediate ways the federal government is cutting through red tape to bring relief to auto communities and achieve long-term economic revitalization for our communities that depend on the auto and manufacturing industry," the White House said in an email announcing the visits.

The appearances by the cabinet members signal a more aggressive tack than the trips Montgomery has already made in scattered Midwest cities. The four states are also ones that President Obama won in last fall's presidential election, though by varying margins.

While GM has reportedly struck agreements with some bondholders this afternoon, the company is expected to announce it will file for bankruptcy by its restructuring deadline at the end of this month.

The officials making visits all of next week are: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Small Business Administrator Karen Mills, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, Dr. Ed Montgomery, the President's Director of Auto Recovery and Workers.

View the schedule of the visits after the jump: Read more...

The White House is holding out hope that there might be a deal between General Motors and its bondholders despite a critical deadline having passed last night.

Despite the deadline for GM to reach an agreement with its debtors having come and gone last night, White House Press Secretary said "you never know" what sort of deals could be reached before Monday's deadline for a new restructuring plan.

"Well, you never know," Gibbs said on the prospects of a deal with bondholders still. "I think that the team continues to work on trying to get all the stakeholders involved, to move and make progress, and they're going to continue to do that up until that deadline."

With that in mind, Gibbs avoided directly criticizing the bondholders as Obama had after several of them forced a Chrysler bankruptcy by refusing to deal.

Said Gibbs: "Instead of prejudging how the negotiations will go over the course of the next several days, as we lead up to that deadline, I'd let those stakeholders continue that negotiation in order to get the best possible outcome for GM, for its workers, for the communities that GM is in, and for the taxpayers of this country."

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) invoked Memorial Day and veterans in the latest salvo against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), organized by a leading group opposed to the labor legislation.

"The right to vote without fear of intimidation and the right to have a say in contract negotiations are central to the freedoms our veterans have defended," Coffman said in a radio actuality. "As we observe the sacrifices our veterans have made in defense of our nation, it is critically important not to lose sight of the freedoms they fought to preserve."

The Teamsters also released a video with a veteran's perspective, arguing that anyone who fights for Americans' rights overseas should have the right to join a union. (See the Teamsters' video below.)

The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) linked soldiers' sacrifices remembered on Memorial Day to domestic freedoms the group says EFCA would erode.

"Thanks to these dedicated men and women who served in our Armed Forces, Americans enjoy many rights, one of which is the freedom to vote by secret ballot," WFI's Jason McBride wrote to supporters. "That's why [EFCA] is so dangerous. It eliminates freedoms that should be cherished and guarded -- freedoms that so many have fought to defend."

Here's the radio spot:



Here's the Teamsters' video:

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner signaled Obama administration opposition Monday to any attempts to cap the salaries of executives whose companies are on government support, but said it would push for new regulations on bonuses and incentives.

Geithner indicated receptiveness to plans floated by some lawmakers and regulators to revamp regulations on incentives and bonuses that critics alleged contributed to risk-taking in the financial services industry.

"No I don't think so," Geithner said at a forum sponsored by Newsweek magazine when asked whether the executives of companies receiving TARP funds should make no more in salary than the secretary -- which Geithner acknowledged was under $200,000 per year.

"I don't think our government should set caps on compensation," Geithner said. "I think we need to put in place some broad constraints on incentives compensation."

Geithner's remarks fall against a backdrop of comments by TARP Oversight Panel Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren's assertion that it is "entirely appropriate" to ask questions about compensation.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has rejected caps on salary, but said there should be new regulations on bonuses and other incentives -- not just in the financial sector, but broadly across the economy.

Geithner suggested several options available to constrain bonuses, including increased shareholder input on executive pay, bonuses tied to longer-term returns, more disclosure requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other options.

"We shouldn't be setting broad caps, we should be trying to get the incentives better," Geithner told the audience at the National Press Club.

Democrats in Congress are "committed" to passing the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday.

Pelosi told the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Department conference in Washington that the strength of the middle class is directly tied to the strength of organized labor.

"Our work in Congress is based on two truths: America