- Jan 7, 2002
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DETROIT -- Delphi Corp.'s labor unions vehemently rejected a new "final" offer that still would radically cut workers' compensation and revealed that the bankrupt auto parts giant wants to slash 24,000 U.S. factory jobs within three years.
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger on Wednesday called the new offer "insulting" and said the unions and the company may be on a "collision course."
"Delphi's contract proposal was not designed to be a framework for an agreement but a road map for confrontation," said Gettelfinger, whose union represents 24,000 of Delphi's 34,000 U.S. hourly workers.
The impasse raises the likelihood of a work stoppage at Delphi as early as January that could cripple both the parts maker and its largest customer, General Motors Corp.
Delphi's six labor unions joined forces early this month under the name Mobilizing@Delphi after the company proposed cutting wages for factory workers from $26 an hour to as low as $9 an hour.
The offer Delphi presented to its unions this week would increase the average base wage for production workers from $10 an hour to $12.50 an hour and calls for less severe benefit cuts.
Still, Gettelfinger and other union leaders said at a news conference that the offer was not worth taking to their rank-and-file members and shows that Delphi is determined to terminate its union contracts in bankruptcy court.
"(The offer) is ridiculous, and they know it's ridiculous," Gettelfinger said. "It's not worthy of a vote."
With the situation heating up, investors on Wednesday hammered GM's stock down 6 percent to $21.29, its lowest level since 1991.
Also on Wednesday, Gettelfinger said the UAW and Ford Motor Co. have had meetings about lowering the automaker's health care costs before the 2007 renegotiation of their labor contract.
Last month, the UAW and GM reached a similar deal to cut GM's nearly $6 billion-a-year health care tab by $1 billion. The UAW said it has begun reviewing Ford's finances to determine if cuts are necessary.
But the UAW, along with Delphi's other unions, said its primary mission in coming weeks will be to expose and challenge generous executive compensation packages Delphi is proposing for senior management.
Delphi has defended nearly $90 million in proposed bonuses for 486 top managers as a fair reward if the company emerges from bankruptcy. It also said a recently improved severance program is necessary to keep 21 key officers from leaving.
The unions on Wednesday blasted the pay packages as a clear example of "corporate greed" and a sign of Delphi's insensitivity to the plight of the factory workers who keep the company running.
"This fight is not just about 34,000 Delphi workers," said Henry Reichard, automotive conference board chairman at the International Union of Electrical Workers union, which represents 8,500 Delphi hourly workers. "What's at stake here is the survival of the middle class." http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0511/17/A01-385328.htm
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger on Wednesday called the new offer "insulting" and said the unions and the company may be on a "collision course."
"Delphi's contract proposal was not designed to be a framework for an agreement but a road map for confrontation," said Gettelfinger, whose union represents 24,000 of Delphi's 34,000 U.S. hourly workers.
The impasse raises the likelihood of a work stoppage at Delphi as early as January that could cripple both the parts maker and its largest customer, General Motors Corp.
Delphi's six labor unions joined forces early this month under the name Mobilizing@Delphi after the company proposed cutting wages for factory workers from $26 an hour to as low as $9 an hour.
The offer Delphi presented to its unions this week would increase the average base wage for production workers from $10 an hour to $12.50 an hour and calls for less severe benefit cuts.
Still, Gettelfinger and other union leaders said at a news conference that the offer was not worth taking to their rank-and-file members and shows that Delphi is determined to terminate its union contracts in bankruptcy court.
"(The offer) is ridiculous, and they know it's ridiculous," Gettelfinger said. "It's not worthy of a vote."
With the situation heating up, investors on Wednesday hammered GM's stock down 6 percent to $21.29, its lowest level since 1991.
Also on Wednesday, Gettelfinger said the UAW and Ford Motor Co. have had meetings about lowering the automaker's health care costs before the 2007 renegotiation of their labor contract.
Last month, the UAW and GM reached a similar deal to cut GM's nearly $6 billion-a-year health care tab by $1 billion. The UAW said it has begun reviewing Ford's finances to determine if cuts are necessary.
But the UAW, along with Delphi's other unions, said its primary mission in coming weeks will be to expose and challenge generous executive compensation packages Delphi is proposing for senior management.
Delphi has defended nearly $90 million in proposed bonuses for 486 top managers as a fair reward if the company emerges from bankruptcy. It also said a recently improved severance program is necessary to keep 21 key officers from leaving.
The unions on Wednesday blasted the pay packages as a clear example of "corporate greed" and a sign of Delphi's insensitivity to the plight of the factory workers who keep the company running.
"This fight is not just about 34,000 Delphi workers," said Henry Reichard, automotive conference board chairman at the International Union of Electrical Workers union, which represents 8,500 Delphi hourly workers. "What's at stake here is the survival of the middle class." http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0511/17/A01-385328.htm
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