CHICAGO HEIGHTS | Opponents of a bailout to the Big 3 automakers are vilifying the United Auto Workers in an attempt to break the back of the union, a UAW official said Monday.

Bill Jackson, president of UAW Local 588, said senators from some of the same southern states that are giving tax credits to transplanted automakers such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda have voted against $14 billion in bridge loans to GM, Chrysler and Ford.

"They have a hidden agenda, and they're painting an untrue picture of our wages," said Jackson, whose local represents hourly workers at the Ford Chicago Heights Stamping Plant. "They're from states that are giving foreign nameplates state tax credits. ... It's not a level playing field."

One claim from bailout opponents that UAW workers make $70 or more an hour draws Jackson's ire. The workers actual wage is much lower, he said, explaining that the $70 figure is the company's total per hour labor cost and includes pension and health care benefits paid to retirees.

"If I make $70 an hour, I'll file a grievance for back pay," Jackson said. "Then I won't have to worry about the auto industry's future."

The average UAW worker's wages and benefits total $58 an hour under the Voluntary Employee Benefits Association, or VEBA, plan, which is part of the UAW's current contract with the automakers.

Jackson, of Dyer, and other local UAW officials have been at the union's international headquarters twice in the past two weeks to discuss possible modifications to the labor agreement that could help keep the automakers out of bankruptcy.

"Everything depends on what Washington does," he said. "We voted as a council to initiate a process to set the wheels in motion. I don't think its an understatement to say we're at a critical time for the industry."

The union can make certain provisions in the agreement, such as allowing the automakers to defer contributions to the VEBA, without the approval of its membership, he said.