As part of the loan deal, the Bush administration is requiring the United Auto Workers to accept lower wages and decreased benefits comparable to non-union workers at the US car plants of Nissan, Toyota and Honda. Analysts say the concessions would essentially erase the significant distinctions between union and non-union auto workers, and the lack of such union worker advantages would render moot the union’s fundamental purpose. UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said the loan “will keep the doors of America’s factories open,” but he criticized Bush for adding what he described as “unfair conditions singling out workers.” At a news conference in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama said that workers should not be the ones taking all the hits.

President-elect Barack Obama: “There are going to be some painful steps that have to be taken. I just want to make sure that when we see a final restructuring package, that it’s not just workers who are bearing the brunt of that restructuring, that they’re not the ones who are taking all the hits, and others who in the past have enjoyed a lot more of the benefits of the auto industry somehow aren’t being affected. I think all shareholders are going to have to be — play a part in this process.”