United auto workers president Ron Gettelfinger doesn't look like your typical union boss. Soft-spoken with a neatly trimmed mustache, he's more like a college professor: Yet when asked to describe his style shortly before he became the union's president in 2002, Gettelfinger barked: "Abrasive." He proved it by calling a strike in his first week on the job. The walkout at a car-seat maker caused a domino effect that shut down five GM and Chrysler factories.
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