http://mediamatters.org/items/200812060002

"...Contrary to an often-repeated myth, UAW members at GM, Ford and
Chrysler are not paid $73 an hour. The truth is, wages for UAW members
range from about $14 per hour for newly hired workers to $28 per hour
for assemblers. The $73 an hour figure is outdated and inaccurate. It
includes not only the costs of health care, pensions and other
compensation for current workers, but also includes the costs of
pensions and health care for all of the retired workers, spread out over
the active workforce. Obviously, active workers do not receive any of
this compensation, so it is simply not accurate to describe it as part
of their "earnings."..."

"...GM, which negotiated the four-year deal that serves as a template
for UAW deals with Chrysler and Ford, says its total hourly labor costs
dropped 6 percent this year from pre-contract levels, from $73.26 in
2006 to around $69 per hour. The new cost includes laborers' wages of
$29.78 per hour, plus benefits, pensions and the cost of providing
health care to more than 432,000 GM retirees, GM spokesman Tony Sapienza
said...."

"...In the [December 2] column, I compare the total hourly compensation
of a UAW worker at GM, Ford and Chrysler with an average worker's pay at
a Japanese plant in the United States. I used $71 per hour versus $42
per hour to point out how uncompetitive the domestic industry is.

Well, plenty of folks, including UAW and auto industry retirees raised
heck, saying the comparison is skewed. Why? Because the figures include
workers' wages and benefits and all of the pension and healthcare
expenses the domestic industry must pay to its large base of retirees.
..."

"..."It's not as if each active worker is getting health benefits and
pensions worth $42 per hour. That would come to nearly twice his or her
wages. (Talk about gold-plated coverage!) Instead, each active worker is
getting benefits equal only to a fraction of that -- probably around $10
per hour, according to estimates from the International Motor Vehicle
Program. The number only gets to $70 an hour if you include the cost of
benefits for retirees -- in other words, the cost of benefits for other
people."..."

"...However, even though the UAW said in 2007 that "[t]he highest
figures sometimes cited also include the benefit costs of retirees who
are no longer on the payroll," and GM has acknowledged that its $70 or
more per hour figure includes payments for current retirees, media
figures and outlets have repeatedly advanced the false claim about
autoworkers:..."

So basically, this $70/hour number is including the health care costs of
twice as many retires and their families as there are current workers.
Plus the amount that the auto companies are currently paying in pensions
for twice the amount of retirees as there are current employees. Of
course they aren't paying the pensions of current employees now.