UAW chief: inaction not an option on U.S. auto bailout

By Poornima Gupta and Nick Carey

DETROIT (Reuters) - United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said on Thursday that lawmakers need to take immediate action on a $25 billion (16 billion pound) loan bill to support the U.S. automakers or one or more could fail by the end of the year.

"Inaction is simply not an option," he said.

A bankruptcy filing by any one of the automakers could take the others with it and would also be devastating to dealers and suppliers.

"If one of the companies go over the cliff, it could take one or more with it," he said. "The costs that would come from this are just too great."

Gettelfinger, who testified on Tuesday and Wednesday to U.S. congressional committees in support of the loans, said he would not comment on a possible compromise bill reached by Democratic and Republican senators until details were known.

When told that one detail might be that the automakers would have to provide a strategic plan to get access to the money, Gettelfinger said he would support that.

During his testimony, Gettelfinger said General Motors had the most pressing need for support, followed by Chrysler, which is owned by Cerberus Capital, and then Ford.

On Thursday, Gettelfinger said the Bush administration and lawmakers need to take action "now, today," and he was confident that Congress would be able to reach an agreement.