IUE-CWA says it has tentative deal with GM

DAYTON — A labor union representing thousands of retired autoworkers in Ohio and Mississippi says it has reached a tentative agreement with General Motors Corp. to provide baseline health-care coverage for retirees.

The International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers of America said Tuesday that those who retired before age 65 will be offered an extra $50 million in payments. IUE President Jim Clark says those workers will now have a total of $467 million in coverage.

Clark says those who retired after 65 and are eligible for Medicare will no longer have health-care coverage from GM beginning in January.

The agreement must be approved in U.S. bankruptcy court.

The IUE-CWA represents about 20,000 pre-65 retirees from plants in Dayton and Warren, Ohio, and Brookhaven and Clinton, Miss.