No surprises here

GM, I guess assuming the ball is totally in their court, has laid out two major direction options for the contract:

General Motors Corp in its contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers union has proposed one option that excludes establishing a union-run healthcare trust but calls for deeper cuts in several areas, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

That option is one of two proposals GM has put on the table, with the other being establishing such a healthcare trust, which would be funded by GM cash, debt and possibly stock, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the proposals.

Great. The one commodity you can really count on: GM debt.

And while talks have obviously centered on healthcare, there is more to it, including plant closings; mostly plants that produce the SUV's and trucks that the big three stubbornly continued to pursue construction of.

Those at risk, various experts told the Free Press, include GM's SUV plant in Moraine, Ohio, where more than 2,000 workers build the Chevy Trailblazer and similar models, and Ford's St. Thomas, Ontario, plant, where more than 2,400 workers build the Crown Victoria and similar models.

Chrysler is exploring the sale of Chrysler Transport -- which employs fewer than 1,000 workers and has terminals in Detroit, Ohio and Canada -- and certain parts-related operations, such as warehousing and packaging, though not the entire performance-oriented brand, the Free Press has reported.

...

But Ford's Way Forward 2006 restructuring plan left a lot of details undisclosed, leaving a lot of room for negotiation at the bargaining table.

Ford's revival plan for North America, which was first announced in January 2006 and revamped in September, calls for closing 16 plants, eliminating 44,000 jobs and revamping the car and truck lineup with the goal of profitability in 2009.

But Ford hasn't named six of the plants yet to close, including two assembly and four parts plants.

Yeah, um, that could be an issue.

But all this is moot if this is really the case:

Sources close to union negotiators said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger is reluctant to sign off on a VEBA -- and the automakers are hesitant to give the union what it wants, namely the promise of job security, in exchange for a deal.

That's negotiating, gentlemen. This whole thing is sounding more and more like 2005 all over again.