GM'S HEALTH PLAN COULD BE CONTAGIOUS

摘要

It's easy to understand why some former auto workers are nervous about General Motors Corp.'s bold plan to off-load $51 billion in retiree health-care obligations onto the United Auto Workers. Just take a look at Caterpillar Inc. In 1998, the equipment giant set up a similar type of health-care trust to defray increases in retiree medical costs. By October, 2004, it ran dry, and retirees saw as much as $281 extra taken from their monthly pensionrnchecks. Now the retirees, union, and company are in litigation.