SPRING HILL (AP) - A top official with the United Auto Workers says he is unworried about provoking more hostility from Republicans in the South over a new cooperative effort with Germany's largest union.

Gary Casteel, the secretary-treasurer of the UAW, said at a news conference on Thursday that the union's efforts to organize auto assembly plants and suppliers will be opposed by conservatives no matter which strategies they pursue.

The UAW and its German counterpart, IG Metall, formally announced the creation of a joint office to promote labor issues at German auto companies doing business in the South.

Wolfgang Lemb, a member of IG Metall's executive committee, said German workers recognize that low-cost labor in the United States can put pressure on their jobs at home.