Report: UAW chief admits union too slow to build green cars, cut jobs bank

You just never know what Bob King's next move is going to be. His latest turn in the spotlight has him admitting, "I don't think we pushed hard enough for green vehicles early enough." Although some might replace "early enough" with the phrase, "at all," it's not like the UAW was alone among American auto industry stakeholders attempting to ignore the future.
On the (sore-for-everyone) subject of the jobs banks, King sounds almost contrite when he says:

When the numbers cascaded and the companies got into financial trouble, it was a solution that didn't work. We have to be thoughtful and mindful of what does have an impact on the company.

These kinds of nostalgic conclusions are sure to put a few rueful smiles on folks in the executive suite, but we wonder what what King and his crew are going to do with this new openness to CAFE constraints and consideration of the company line. The companies themselves have already been forced to set the course, so where does the UAW get to step in and take the lead?