GM wants labor peace....

Ah, the posturing and rhetoric of Big Three labor negotiations. As WAW goes to press, conventional wisdom has Chrysler as this year's United Auto Workers union strike primary target as the Sept. 14 strike deadline approaches. And with good reason: Chrysler wants to keep those profits coming in, and apparently has no major beefs with the UAW. Ford Motor Co. also seemingly has no big unresolvable issues. That leaves General Motors Corp. vulnerable if it has to swallow a "pattern" settlement ratified by its smaller rivals. That's because the key issue is outsourcing, putting GM's huge Delphi Automotive Systems group right in the middle as it sheds operations and presses the UAW for concessions. Still, GM Chairman John F. Smith Jr. wants peace. "The last thing I want to do is antagonize the UAW," he tells reporters.