Auto worker union boss goes hybrid

UAW head owns hybrid Ford SUV and worries about effect of gas prices on demand for “Big 3″ trucks.

DETROIT, (Reuters) – Unlike most owners of fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrid vehicles, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger acknowledged Friday that he is concerned about high U.S. gasoline prices.

That’s because the UAW, which has failed to sign up workers at foreign-owned auto assembly plants cropping up across the southern United States, is heavily dependent on Detroit’s traditional Big Three automakers for its livelihood.
The Big Three, meanwhile, depend on big trucks and sport utility vehicles for much of their profits.

Demand for the fuel-thirsty vehicles dropped sharply earlier this year, on a shift in consumer sentiment as gasoline prices began their upward spiral. Sales have picked up again since June, after General Motors Corp. Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler began selling vehicles to the general public at the same low prices their employees pay.

But any further escalation in pump prices could slam the brakes on sales of the gas-guzzlers, some analysts say.

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