I’ll tell ya, I wouldn’t want to be the negotiator for those negotiations between the UAW and GM. According to the mainstream media reports coming out today, the idea of a volunteer employee benefits association (VEBA) is now off the table. The Wall Street Journal reports:

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has for now ended discussions with General Motors Corp. about creating a multibillion-dollar trust fund to manage retiree health-care obligations for hundreds of thousands on Detroit auto workers, say people familiar with the talks.

Citing a several billion-dollar funding dispute with GM, Mr. Gettelfinger on Tuesday told the auto maker he wanted to begin discussions on a new four-year contract that didn’t involve this fund, which has been a dominant goal for GM in these talks. The gap was in excess of "several billion dollars," said one person briefed on the talks. The union could bring it back for discussion at a later time.

    As former Sen. Everett Dirksen used to say, "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money." So, the issue of the gap is pretty significant here. No one is talking about a strike taking place any day soon…But stay tuned.