- Jan 7, 2002
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Hourly workers at Delphi Corp. should begin preparing to strike the auto parts maker if a bankruptcy judge throws out their contract, the UAW local at one of Delphi's largest U.S. plants told its members Tuesday.
A flyer passed out by Local 686 in Lockport, N.Y., marks the first time the union has talked openly about a walkout at the Troy-based auto supplier that filed for bankruptcy on Saturday.
Delphi's blue-collar workers are reeling from the plan the parts maker has laid out to return to profitability -- closing or selling "a significant segment" of its 31 U.S. plants, cutting wages for those workers who remain by more than 60% and reducing benefits.
The company wants a New York bankruptcy judge to put the UAW on notice that it must negotiate a new contract with Delphi by Dec. 16. If the union refuses, Delphi wants the judge to use his powers to nullify its labor contracts and impose Delphi's tough new terms on the union.
"Should this happen, the 'no strike' clause is lifted and the UAW has the right to authorize a strike," the flyer said. "We all need to prepare for this possibility."
A spokesman for the UAW leadership in Detroit declined to comment, and the UAW Local 686 in Lockport did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Delphi employs more than 4,000 workers at the Lockport plant, where it builds air-conditioning units, oil coolers, condensers and other parts. That represents about 17% of Delphi's overall UAW membership of 24,000.
By filing for bankruptcy Saturday, Delphi hopes to use the court's broad powers to restructure its debts, close money-losing plants and impose lower wages and benefits on workers whose factories remain open.
GM created the company in 1999 when it spun off almost all of its plants that make nearly every car or truck part. But Delphi has consistently lost money, largely because of the labor pacts it inherited from its days as a GM subsidiary.
A strike at Delphi could eventually close almost every auto plant that depends on it for parts, especially at GM, which remains Delphi's biggest customer, buying almost 50% of everything it makes.
"We had a preview of what a Delphi strike looks like in 1998 when the UAW struck just two plants including a Delphi facility in Flint, Michigan," said Harley Shaiken, professor at the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in labor issues. "A strike by the UAW at Delphi could mean the end of the company."
Those strikes at two Delphi parts plants virtually shut down GM across North America for nearly two months, causing its U.S. sales and market share to drop and costing millions of dollars.
But Delphi may be putting its factory workers in much the same position Northwest Airlines put its mechanics and plane cleaners this summer: demanding concessions that are so drastic, workers can't possibly accept them. In Northwest's case, it wanted to wipe out nearly half the union's jobs and cut the pay of those who remained by about 25%.
Given the choice of sign-or-walk, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association walked Aug. 20.
"You either stand up for what you believe in or you roll over and take whatever management, doesn't matter what company, dictates to you," said Bob Rose, president of the union's local in Romulus.
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/delphi12e_20051012.htm
A flyer passed out by Local 686 in Lockport, N.Y., marks the first time the union has talked openly about a walkout at the Troy-based auto supplier that filed for bankruptcy on Saturday.
Delphi's blue-collar workers are reeling from the plan the parts maker has laid out to return to profitability -- closing or selling "a significant segment" of its 31 U.S. plants, cutting wages for those workers who remain by more than 60% and reducing benefits.
The company wants a New York bankruptcy judge to put the UAW on notice that it must negotiate a new contract with Delphi by Dec. 16. If the union refuses, Delphi wants the judge to use his powers to nullify its labor contracts and impose Delphi's tough new terms on the union.
"Should this happen, the 'no strike' clause is lifted and the UAW has the right to authorize a strike," the flyer said. "We all need to prepare for this possibility."
A spokesman for the UAW leadership in Detroit declined to comment, and the UAW Local 686 in Lockport did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Delphi employs more than 4,000 workers at the Lockport plant, where it builds air-conditioning units, oil coolers, condensers and other parts. That represents about 17% of Delphi's overall UAW membership of 24,000.
By filing for bankruptcy Saturday, Delphi hopes to use the court's broad powers to restructure its debts, close money-losing plants and impose lower wages and benefits on workers whose factories remain open.
GM created the company in 1999 when it spun off almost all of its plants that make nearly every car or truck part. But Delphi has consistently lost money, largely because of the labor pacts it inherited from its days as a GM subsidiary.
A strike at Delphi could eventually close almost every auto plant that depends on it for parts, especially at GM, which remains Delphi's biggest customer, buying almost 50% of everything it makes.
"We had a preview of what a Delphi strike looks like in 1998 when the UAW struck just two plants including a Delphi facility in Flint, Michigan," said Harley Shaiken, professor at the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in labor issues. "A strike by the UAW at Delphi could mean the end of the company."
Those strikes at two Delphi parts plants virtually shut down GM across North America for nearly two months, causing its U.S. sales and market share to drop and costing millions of dollars.
But Delphi may be putting its factory workers in much the same position Northwest Airlines put its mechanics and plane cleaners this summer: demanding concessions that are so drastic, workers can't possibly accept them. In Northwest's case, it wanted to wipe out nearly half the union's jobs and cut the pay of those who remained by about 25%.
Given the choice of sign-or-walk, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association walked Aug. 20.
"You either stand up for what you believe in or you roll over and take whatever management, doesn't matter what company, dictates to you," said Bob Rose, president of the union's local in Romulus.
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/delphi12e_20051012.htm
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