THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
10A NEWS
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
ACCIDENT
Crash in Mexico kills tourists
Associated Press
The remains of a passenger bus that crashed early Saturday are seen near the Compostela-Chapallilla highway, in western Mexico, on Sunday. A bus carrying passengers of several detoured flights, including a family traveling from the U.S. for a funeral, crashed in western Mexico, killing at least 17 and injuring 13 according to bus company and government officials.
Red Cross spokesman says 18 passengers dead, 13 injured
BY OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — A bus carrying tourists including passen-
MEXICO CRrying tourists igers of a flight from Phoenix crashed in western Mexico on Saturday, killing at least 17 people, authorities said.
At least 17 people were killed, including 13 men, three women and a 1-year-old child. Another 14 were injured, five seriously, the statement said.
Authorities said four of the injured lived in Los Angeles and Riverside, Calif., but they had no information on the deceased.
The bus was
Red Cross
spokes
man Miguel
Langarica said
18 people were
killed and 13
injured. It was
not immediately
possible
carrying 35 passengers from the resort city of Puerto Vallarta to Guadalajara when it ran off a mountain road and plunged into a ravine near the town of Compostela, about 125 miles from Guadalajara, the Nayarit's state prosecutor's office said in a statement.
to explain the discrepancy in the death tolls.
The driver, 28-year-old Magdiel Coronado, was also injured and hospitalized, authorities said.
Bus company spokesman Daniel Rios said as many as half of the passengers had arrived in Mexico on a flight from Phoenix
on Friday. The plane was for Guadalajara but was rerouted to Puerto Vallarta along with 17 other flights because of a fire at the Guadalajara airport.
Rios said the passengers had yet to be identified but that at least eight family members were Mexicans legally living in Phoenix who were in the country for Independence Day celebrations. Four of them were injured and one, a 1-year-old child, was killed.
Authorities said four of the injured lived in Los Angeles and Riverside, Calif., but they had no information on the deceased.
Reforma newspaper said the Guadalajara airport was shut down after a flight from Cancun caught fire. It was unclear if there were any injuries from the fire.
Auto negotiations continue
NATION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Workers walk out of the United Auto Workers Local 735 hall after getting updates on contract talks with General Motors Corp. Sunday in Psilanti, Mich. Negotiations were to resume Sunday between General Motors and the United Auto Workers with widespread reports of progress but several tough issues remaining. The union continued to work under the terms of a national contract that expired at midnight Friday, while a Monday strike remained possible.
Strike possible as General Motors,union pursue contract
BY TOM KRISHER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Contract negotiations between General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers reached a critical point Sunday as local union officials hoped for an agreement but prepared once again for a possible strike on Monday.
Leaders at factories across the country received conflicting reports out of Detroit Sunday afternoon. Several reported progress and optimism but said that if no agreement was
and brought Gettelfinger back to the bargaining table, and progress has been made since then, Rogers said.
GM's contract with the UAW was to expire at midnight Friday, but the union extended it on an hour-by-hour basis. The strike threat loomed until early Saturday, when negotiators told local leaders
"I heard things are moving kind of in the right direction. We let our folks know a strike is not out of the question."
DAVE GREEN UAW local president
Negotiations were continuing at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday, said GM spokeswoman Katie McBride.
reached Sunday night, the union would walk out Monday morning. A local in Arlington, Texas, however, told its members to report as scheduled Monday.
Rogers told union members that the union came within minutes of striking Friday night when President Ron Gettelfinger walked out of a bargaining room after getting into a dispute with GM negotiators. But GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson intervened
At a union meeting Sunday afternoon, UAW Local 735 President Chuck Rogers told members from a GM transmission complex near Ypsilanti that he was told by one of the negotiators that if no agreement was reached Sunday, they would go on strike.
Two other local leaders also said they were told to expect a strike if no agreement was reached Sunday. They asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
to stand down.
Strike talk often is heard when negotiations get close to or pass the contract expiration deadline.
Green, president of one of two locals at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant that makes small cars for Chevrolet and Pontiac. "We let our
"I heard things are moving kind of in the right direction," said Dave
folks know a strike is not out of the question," he said, adding that he hoped for a resolution.
Bargainners worked all day Saturday, taking a rest break at 9 p.m. and resumingnego-
Several local leaders reported progress and optimism but said that if no agreement was reached Sunday night,the union would walk out Monday morning.
tiations at 11 a.m. Sunday, said GM spokeswoman Katie McBride. She reported progress but said several tough issues remained, declining comment on specifics.
A message was left for UAW spokesman Roger Kerson.
Local 276 at a GM sport utility vehicle plant in suburban Dallas told workers on its Web site Sunday to report to work as scheduled.
One of the local union officials who asked not to be identified said the main outstanding issues were retiree health care expenses and promises from the company that it would build new vehicles at UAW-represented factories. GM wants the union to take over responsibility for retiree health care costs using a company-funded trust. The UAW was asking for job guarantees in exchange for taking on the costs.
Only two GM assembly plants in Flint and Lansing — were scheduled to operate Sunday, and McBride said those plants were running as scheduled. GM has about 73,000 UAW-represented hourly workers at its U.S. factories.
ees at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas, remain the same: You are instructed to report to work at your normal time on Monday," a notice on the Web site said.
"The instructions for all employ-
GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have a combined unfunded retiree health care obligation of more than $90 billion.
The local official said he was told Sunday that both sides
had moved closer on funding the health care trust, but they were still apart on job security guarantees.
On Thursday, the union named GM as the lead company and potential strike target, extending contracts with Ford and Chrysler that can be ended by either party with three days' notice. Once the union reaches an agreement with GM, it will try to implement similar deals at Ford and Chrysler.
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