It's A Global Game Now

With an eye to Japan, the U.A.W. and Detroit start serious bargaining

For almost five years, members of the United Auto Workers have given up wage gains and made other sacrifices to help U.S. carmakers survive. Now, mindful of Detroit's record profits and the fat bonuses that auto executives have been paying themselves, U.A.W. leaders are entering the final lap of perhaps the most crucial contract talks in the union's 49-year history. If a new three-year agreement is not reached before the old one expires at midnight on Sept. 14, as many as 465,000 autoworkers may...