I asked Hilker if he knew how the UAW representative got to Washington. He didn’t, and asked me to tell him when I found out. First, I had to remember his name (my research skills are amazing). Then, I had to google it (see? Amazing!). Turns out, his name is Ron Gettelfinger, and he flew commercial. Reuters has the bit of trivia in the story Auto execs’ private flights to Washington draw ire:

Ron Gettelfinger, head of the United Auto Workers union, also testified at the hearing but flew a commercial flight to Washington.

“I got a plane to catch, you know what I mean,” Gettelfinger said to reporters when leaving the hearing room.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Ford CEO Alan Mulally are required by their companies to fly by private aircraft for security reasons, according to company documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The policy for Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli is not required to be disclosed because the company is not publicly traded.

I wonder, would it have been against company policy for them to share a jet? According to documents filed with the SEC, it’s also corporate policy to lose money on all vehicle sales in the US. That doesn’t mean it’s a good policy.