FACTBOX: Key facts about UAW wage and benefits

DETROIT (Reuters) - The wages and benefits for the United Auto Workers union are at the center of a debate on a $14 billion package in emergency loans to U.S. automakers.

Some Republican senators want Detroit autoworkers to have pay parity with foreign auto manufacturers.

But the UAW has said the wages and benefits of its members are now competitive with workers employed by Japanese automakers following landmark labor agreements the union reached with General Motors Corp, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co in 2007.

The agreement slashed wages for new hires and created a trust for retiree healthcare called a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, or VEBA, to shift liabilities to a union-aligned trust to be established in 2010.

Here are details of the average hourly labor cost of UAW workers employed at Ford and those employed by non-U.S. based automakers with plants in the United States. The figures are similar across the three Detroit automakers.

WAGES: Base wages and cost of living adjustments

UAW: $29

Transplants: $26

WAGE RELATED: Paid vacation, overtime, holidays, night and weekend pay, break time

UAW: $14

Transplants: $9

BENEFITS: Healthcare, training, etc

UAW: $12

Transplants: $11

LEGACY COSTS (Without VEBA): Pension and healthcare benefits for retirees

UAW: $16

Transplants: $3

LEGACY COSTS (With VEBA): Pension and healthcare benefits for retirees

UAW: $3

Transplants: $3

TOTAL LABOR COST:

UAW (without VEBA): $71

UAW (with VEBA): $58

Transplants: $49

Source: Ford.

Note: Average wage assumes 20 percent entry-level employees.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Gary Hill)