DETROIT (AP) - The United Auto Workers (news - web sites) lost more than 90,000 members last year as slackened U.S. sales caused automakers and major suppliers to cut blue-collar jobs.
The UAW at the end of 2000 had 671,853 members, down 90,586 from 762,439 the year before, according to the union's annual financial report.
It was the second year in a row that the UAW's membership roster sharply declined. In 1999, membership fell 9.9 percent.
The UAW, which has seen its ranks decline since peaking at 1.5 million in 1979, has increased efforts to recruit workers outside the auto industry by targeting universities, hospitals and casinos, The Detroit News reported.
UAW President Stephen Yokich's base salary rose 7.6 percent to $125,756 in 2000 from $116,864, according to the financial report. His total pay - including expenses and allowances - slipped 0.9 percent to $145,519.
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