Before I go off to vote in the New York City mayoral election (for Freddy Ferrer, of course), I caught this item in today’s Wall Street Journal. I had heard about this Delphi coalition yesterday from a friend in the UAW.
UAW, Other Unions Join Forces
To Increase Pressure on Delphi
By KRIS MAHER in Pittsburgh and KAREN LUNDEGAARD and JOHN D. STOLL
After weeks of clear signals that Delphi Corp. plans to slash wages and benefits, the United Auto Workers and five other unions are forming a coalition covering about 33,650 Delphi workers to join in a “strong, coordinated fight” against the auto-parts maker.
Representatives from the six unions will meet next week in Detroit to plan a campaign that will likely involve trying to persuade Delphi’s suppliers, as well as local politicians and clergy in communities where the company has facilities, to pressure it to moderate its demands.
Separately, Delphi — which last month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection — said it is in a legal dispute with five suppliers that threatened to stop supplying parts or services unless they were paid. Delphi paid the suppliers, but under protest. Delphi spokeswoman Claudia Baucus said the suppliers later this month must prove to the bankruptcy judge they are “essential suppliers” and need to be paid. If the court sides with Delphi, the suppliers must refund the money to the company.
The dispute in part centers on payments ranging from $58,617 to just over $1 million that Delphi made to the suppliers since filing for bankruptcy but now contends it should get back. The suppliers include Lee Co.; Macauto USA Inc.; Proto Manufacturing Inc.; Behr Industries Corp.; and Schmidt Technology GMBH, according to Delphi. A Macauto official declined to comment. Representatives at Lee, Proto, Behr and Schmidt didn’t return calls.
Delphi said suppliers are obligated to maintain regular shipments and services under U.S. bankruptcy law. The dispute was reported yesterday in the Financial Times.
The formation of the union coalition, which calls itself the “Mobilizing@Delphi Coalition,” comes as a fringe UAW group that favors a strike if a deal isn’t worked out continues to attract attention.
James Clark, president of the IUE-CWA, which represents 8,500 workers at Delphi, said the coalition would try to send a broader message. “This is bigger than just Delphi,” he said.
Unions said they also intended to send a message to Robert S. “Steve” Miller, Delphi’s chairman and chief executive, who has said repeatedly that Delphi can survive only if it cuts wages to around $9 an hour from $25.
Paul Krell, spokesman for the UAW, which represents some 24,000 Delphi workers, said while the unions have been public on issues like executive compensation, the coalition means it will “step it up.” The United Steelworkers of America, which represents about 900 Delphi workers, also is involved. The three other unions represent fewer than 100 Delphi workers each.
Labor experts also viewed the move as a way to mobilize UAW locals that had been agitating to stage protests or even strikes. “I think the UAW had a sense that maybe they couldn’t keep a lid on some of those locals,” said Robert Bruno, associate professor of labor and industrial relations at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
On Sunday, a fringe group of UAW members, many employed by Delphi, met in Michigan to vent anger and show support for work slowdowns. The group favors a potential strike if the UAW fails to broker a deal more favorable than current offers, said Todd Jordan, a Delphi worker from Kokomo, Ind. While the group isn’t officially tied to the UAW’s leadership, it holds clout within Delphi’s hourly rank-and-file.
A spokesman for General Motors Corp., Delphi’s former parent and its largest customer, said the auto maker is working on a contingency plan in the event of a Delphi strike, but he declined to offer more details.
