To Heck With The Rank And File? UAW Official Says Pay Secondary To More Jobs

The United Automobile Workers union might allow carmakers to put more new workers on a lower wage scale to create more jobs and reopen idled plants, a U.A.W. official said Tuesday.

The official, Joe Ashton, a vice president in charge of the U.A.W.’s dealings with General Motors, said creating jobs was a priority for the union entering this fall’s negotiations with the three Detroit carmakers.

“We will look at anything, when it comes to negotiations, that will retain jobs,” Mr. Ashton said. “The most important thing going into this set of negotiations is jobs.”