ANN ARBOR—The historic contract being finalized between Detroit’s automakers and the United Auto Workers could have a profound impact on the future of the auto industry, labor relations, our nation’s ability to compete with foreign companies, the U.S. economy and the industrial Midwest.

The University of Michigan, with a host of top business, labor and policy experts, has many specialists available with unique insights who can discuss these issues.

Our experts include:

Gerald Meyers, adjunct professor of organizational behavior and human resource management, is a leading expert on corporate leadership. The former chairman of American Motors Corp. also owns a consulting firm that provides counsel to senior management in crisis prevention and crisis management. He is author of “When it Hits the Fan: Managing the Nine Crises of Business,” and co-author of “Dealers, Healers, Brutes and Saviors: Eight Winning Styles for Solving Giant Business Crises.” He can be reached at (248) 851-6834 or e-mail him at gmprof@umich.edu.

Michael Flynn is director for the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Flynn has conducted extensive research on automotive topics, including industry competitiveness, changing industry relationships and globalization. He was a major contributor to the University’s joint U.S.-Japan Automotive Study and the U.S.-China Automotive Industry Cooperation Project. Flynn can be reached at (734) 936-1360 or e-mail him at mikeflyn@umich.edu.

Bruce Belzowski is a senior research associate at the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation. Belzowski’s automotive consulting work has included presentations to manufacturer, supplier, and dealer groups, work with a number of clients on Delphi methods and issues, and work with two major automotive consulting firms on supplier assessment on community automotive strategies. He can be reached at (734) 936-2704 or e-mail him at bbl@umich.edu.

David Lewis, professor of business history at the Michigan Business School, is a renowned expert on the history of the auto industry and has written several books. He can speak specifically about the history of labor negotiations between the UAW and the Big Three. He can be reached at (734) 764-9540 or e-mail him at lewisdl@umich.edu.

Frithjof Bergmann, a professor emeritus of philosophy, is an expert on activism and labor, employees and jobs,who has lived in the Third World and was one of the early U-M activists who helped organize the first college teach-in against the Vietnam War. He can be reached at (734) 763-2116 or e-mail him at fberg@umich.edu.