Free Press: Delphi to void contracts, close or sell most of its plants

[Strawman]

Delphi Corp. plans to cut as many as 8,500 salaried workers, or 25% of its white-collar workforce globally, and is seeking to sell or close most of its U.S. manufacturing plants as part of a massive restructuring of the automotive parts supplier.

Delphi also said that it will file motions with a U.S. bankruptcy court in New York later today to void its labor contracts and restructure employee benefits, a step that its unions including the UAW have said could trigger a strike.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger called Delphi’s move “outrageous” and said that it would slash its UAW-represented hourly workforce by 75% from about 23,000.

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060331/NEWS11/60331001

[liberal N proud]

1. Next question: Will they move most of those operations to India?

This all could be a cover to bust another union and outsource more of America.

[BeatleBoot]

2. If the Delphi UAW decide to strike...

and there are "sympathy" strikes from other Unions...

Hold on to your hats!

[Strawman]

3. self delete

posted in wrong spot

[wookie294]

22. There won't be a strike because unions have acquiesced to employers

For 30 years, unions have been an embarrassment to justice and dignity.

Look what those unionized Reagan Democrats gave us....

MEDIAN INCOMES

[jseankil]

27. If they strike the UAW is done with. /nm

/nm

[Strawman]

4. Is there any ballpark figure on the net impact to MI?

When you consider the fact that these are good paying jobs, the loss of which will affect entire families, plus the ripple effects on suppliers, communities, etc.? It just has to be staggering.

[BeatleBoot]

5. It will be felt Nationwide

Delphi plants are all over the country.

If this causes GM to go bankrupt, then its cataclysmic to Michigan.

My opinion, they are trying to break the UAW.

[DetroitProle]

6. Agreed, brother

I felt GM's buyouts were more reasonable, though I had a sinking feeling it was just union busting, I felt maybe it was the lesser of what evils could have come about.
Delphi is disgusting. I don't get it. They can void a contract just because they don't like it? The government and the courts has been anti-union since Reagan. I'm sure they'll approve it.
I live in Detroit. I'm terrified. We're in bad enough shape as it is. I can only imagine what sheer hell will become of this state if they tear up the union and let go of all those workers.

[Blue_Tires]

19. hey Prole,

are you UAW or CAW? I was hoping to find someone on DU to get a better insider perspective...

[DetroitProle]

7. Yeah, the word f*cked

Around here, when the auto industry gets a hiccup, people suffer exponentially. For example...I work at a soup kitchen on Detroit's westside...since the auto industry took an exceptional downturn for the last few years(about 5 or so), the numbers there have doubled. Everyone is related to someone in the industry. It's all we've got.
We're doomed. I'm frightened. So many good people. Skilled, hard-working union folks...in soup kitchen lines.

[Strawman]

8. yep

and I think it's so bad that most people who have been fortunate enough up to this point to be able to just ignore this are in complete denial.

[Bozita]

9. The print edition has a table showing possible closures in 4 Ohio towns

Dayton, Moraine, Kettering, and Vandalia.

I don't think these are good times for Republicans running this November in Ohio.

[JohnnyRingo]

10. I'm a Delphi retiree

In NE Ohio, the birthplace of Packard Electric. (Later Delphi in the spin-off from GM).
And I know there will be a strike.

Delphi Warren (OH)is safer than most because we remain profitable. The problem is the "Holdings Group": Saginaw, Rochester, and a few others.
But make no mistake, even though the workers here are represented by the IUE, we will walk out.

This is going to really affect GM who relies soley on Delphi for wiring hanesses. They can't just contract another smaller company to engineer and build harnesses at the quantity GM demands.

I guess the new American dream is to work 30 years, then work another 30 for less money. Welcome to George Buxh's America.

[Sadie5]

11. The way I understand it is:

that not only Delphi will walk out, but all GM plants will strike. If they can build a plant in Mexico for millions then they can pay decent wages and benefits here in the US. Ohio should throw all their sorry asses out come election day. Just who is this judge that will make the decision, anyone know anything about him???

[5thGenDemocrat]

12. The view from Saginaw

Delphi is slated to close here under this plan. Even though my buddy Mike B, who has 20 years seniority, wants to get out (he's sick of it -- hired in there in 1978 and might never get to his 30 years and out), he's certain of a strike -- and probably one that's going to shut everything down.
From the outside, I can't see where he has anything to lose.
John
Saginaw's been way loyal to GM products over the years -- even when they were the shittiest cars on the market. There's a big backlash brewing here, I feel.

[JohnnyRingo]

18. I should have pointed out that no DHP plant is failing because of

the employees.
The IUE and UAW have worked hand in hand with the company over the years to balance profitability with keeping jobs in this country.
There've been a lot of concessions under that bridge.
I guess this is the thanx the working man or woman get for a lifetime of service in a republican ruled country.

Myself...I think Delphi is bankrupt the same way Donald Trump was broke while he was divorcing Ivana.

[Vidar]

13. Nationalize Delphi, GM & the fricking oil companies.

Of course, we'd have to have a leader with balls and a heart to do that, someone like Chavez.

[Marie26]

14. Delphi Asks Bankruptcy Court to Void Union Deals

DETROIT, March 31 — Delphi, the nation's biggest auto-parts maker, filed a motion in court today that is likely to set off a chain of events that could cost up to 20,000 American auto workers their jobs and leave thousands of others with less than half their wages.

Delphi, which is operating in bankruptcy, asked a court for permission to throw out its labor agreements and impose sharply lower wages and benefits, setting up a confrontation that the United Auto Workers said could lead to a lengthy strike. Such a strike could cripple General Motors and accelerate the slide of the American auto industry.

The confrontation promises to become even more fierce in coming months, as G.M. tries to extricate itself from its worst financial crisis in over a decade, and the U.A.W. fights Delphi over the deepest cuts the union has ever been asked to make.

In addition, Delphi asked the bankruptcy court to reject some of its contracts with General Motors, its biggest customer, which would allow Delphi to renegotiate the prices G.M. pays for parts. It said it would keep only eight of its American plants.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/business/31cnd-delphi.html?ei=5094&en=0ec4fa333ed9e67a&hp=&ex=1143867600&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1143853429-Kh5YrObchm7DWQUfdTTahg

[liberalnurse]

15. Here is a link from the Dayton, Ohio

Delphi issue......4 plants may close.

http://www.whiotv.com/news/5085402/detail.html

Delphi Corp. says it will consider closing plants as part of its restructuring in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Delphi already has placed the following plants in its Automotive Holdings Group, which is a division for plants that are failing to meet profit goals. The number of workers at each plant includes hourly and salaried workers. (Source: Delphi Corp.)

Flint, Mich. -- Workers: 3,160 -- Parts Made: Oil filters, spark plugs, instrument clusters
Athens, Ala. -- Workers: 2,191 -- Parts Made: Gears, halfshafts, hoses
Dayton, Ohio -- Workers: 1,632 -- Parts Made: Brakes
Moraine, Ohio -- Workers: 1,256 -- Parts Made: Compressors
Kettering, Ohio -- Workers: 1,237 -- Parts Made: Struts, shocks, suspension parts
Anderson, Ind. -- Workers: 880 -- Parts Made: Generators, ignition parts
Vandalia, Ohio -- Workers: 642 -- Parts Made: Ball joints, brake parts
Fitzgerald, Ga. -- Workers: 385 -- Parts Made: Batteries
New Brunswick -- Workers: 319 -- Parks Made: Batteries
Laurel, Miss. -- Workers: 82 -- Parts Made: Moldings
Olathe, Kan. -- Workers: 76 -- Parts Made: Batteries


Dayton, Ohio connection....

http://www.whiotv.com/news/8387314/detail.html

[Psephos]

16. You wanna criticize these guys, better have some American wheels

Otherwise you're part of the problem.

Delphi and GM are in big trouble because they pay way more to American workers, not only in hourly wages, but in bennies to families and retirees, than their competitors. You know their competitors, right? They're the companies whose cars are disproportionately the choice of progressives and lefties. God forbid a progressive be seen in an American ride; it's like getting caught at the gym not wearing Nikes. A fucking fashion statement.

The contracts negotioted by UAW and GM were stupid, kick-the-can-down-the-road agreements. I don't know who was more stupid, the unions or GM management. The deals were NOT SUSTAINABLE; even a dope like me could see that when Asians pay half as much for better labor, something's gonna give, and soon.

It is the heart and soul of hypocrisy to slam Delphi and GM for not taking care of their workers in these dire times when the only way to take care of their workers is to sell cars to people like you and me. No cars sold = no workers making money. All this crap talk about GM having no offerings except monster SUVs is a fantasy. Go take a test drive in a Saturn and tell me you no choice. Check out the Malibu, which is No. 1 in its class in customer satisfaction after the sale for three of the last five years. Sure GM has some turkeys, but how would anyone here know what else they have if they avoid GM dealerships like Guantanamo. As Will Rogers said, it's not what you don't know, but what you think you know that ain't so that's the real problem.

GM management sux, everyone knows that, but many of their cars stack up better in J. D. Powers surveys than most of the know-it-alls here realize. You don't want to buy an American car, fine, then don't - but don't poison other buyers. You're shooting union workers right in the heart.

Now 'scuse me while I go to the movies in my 1991 Chrysler, which by the way, still runs like a Swiss watch.

Peace.

[Demit]

17. I bought a Toyota in 1975 & never looked back. Never had to.

Don't preach to me. Cost of ownership of my non-American-made cars is why I chose them. American made cars lost me back then and I never had a reason to return. Screw your "fashion statement" statement. Quality is what sells. If they hadn't been cutting corners on quality back then they might not have lost so many customers since.

[drm604]

20. And meanwhile you yourself

are driving a 15 year old car. That's really helping Chrysler isn't it? :sarcasm:

(I'm driving a '99 Saturn myself.)

[Psephos]

23. I have a 2001 Saturn, also, as long as you're checking inventory

Three generations of GM in my family. How about yours?

[drm604]

24. My point was that you yourself would be helping GM more

if you traded in more often. It wasn't meant as criticism of you keeping that car, just pointing out that we all do what we have to and what makes the most sense for us financially. This is a complicated situation and blaming people who buy foreign cars is simplifying things somewhat. Sometimes it's a case of people doing what they feel they have to do and there are all kinds of completely innocent behavior that can have negative economic impacts.

The only reason I mentioned what I drive was so you wouldn't think I was a foreign car owner who was being defensive, not because I was "taking inventory".

[Blue_Tires]

21. believe me,

I'm a car guy, and in the past (and up until recently) I had gone blue in the face defending U.S. automakers (against overwhelming and futile odds, i might add), but GM's problems at present are not all tied to the products, which are obviously better now than they have been for a long time...

dumb acquisitions or sales of related companies/suppliers, absolutely shitty financial management and poor plant efficiency, over-reliance on deals/rebates that hurt the profit margin, and a nationwide dealer network whose mentality, style, service and support is still stuck in the 1970s have eroded too much of the customer base and market share...I've only owned 2 cars in my life (both Chevy) but the treatment I've recieved at dealers alone is about enough to send me screaming, especially when I've seen the treatment my friends and parents get at Nissan/Toyota dealers...

The sad part is I believe now that finally that GM has the right people and philosophies in place, and some great products at the dealer and in the pipeline, but it is more than a day late and a dollar short...the 'head-in-the-ass' management days from the mid-70s to the late 90s has done far too much damage, and GM/Ford are so far behind the curve when compared to the others it's tragic...Even though I hope it isn't, I think GM/Ford are too far underwater to save themselves....Barring a government bailout, I think they will exist in a radically different format to the one we've been seeing for almost a century.

[Psephos]

26. That's a good post

You raise thoughtful points. I'm a car guy, too, although not professionally. I agree with you especially when you talk about the service experience - although Saturn seems to have consistently better service than many other domestic makes. I give it an "excellent" based on my experiences.

Service, naturally, is not the domain of the line worker, though. I look at the way blue-collar jobs are melting out of the industry, and I see exactly one actual solution: sell more cars. All this other finger-pointing is fiddling while the flames race through the hills of Rome.

I also agree with you that the right people and philosophies have come into place, and that there is some amazing product moving to showrooms.

It's fine if someone buys a foreign make, but what cooks me is when people whose butt has never touched the seat fabric of an American machine keep spreading the meme that all American cars are junk. As you know, that's worse than a lie - it's a vanity, and as I alluded in my earlier post, it's all about making a "statement" with your car. How ironic to see that so widespread among progressives.

Peoples' jobs (and the viability of the communities they live in) depend on breaking that obsolete herdthink. American makes deserve an actual visit to a showroom by any progressive considering a car purchase - then, let the chips fall where they may. It astounds me that those who claim so vividly to be in favor of American working people, and against outsourcing, suddenly turn into flaming hypocrites when it comes time to actually do something about it.

It is not a good reflection on us that a disproportionate number of Red Americans are who keep Blue Americans at work in the factories.

Peace.

[Blue_Tires]

32. i realize that customer service

is not the domain of the line worker, but the higher-ups in the automakers need to have a chat with the dealer networks about how their products are portrayed and how to create a positive customer relationship...For so many cities and town, the dealership, although it is an independent business, IS the face of the company in the community, and bad experiences are very hard to erase from memory...Yes, selling more cars is key, but there is a method to do it where the customer feels valued by the dealer, and feels his or her cash was well spent...That way, not only do you spread good word-of-mouth, you get a brand-loyal repeat customer that is likely to steer friends to the brand as well...I joked my mom a little when she finally switched from Olds to Toyota, but my jaw dropped at the night/day difference from the dealership experience--Her car is five years old now, and the treatment is just like the car was a month old...Compare that with my father, who for years dealt with Cadillac service (yeesh) and now has a Lincoln (my father has become so pissed that he refuses to go to the dealer now for anything--he just uses a good mechanic)...

and like i said, things overall are improving, and evidently someone out there 'gets it', because the local domestic dealers are trying to upgrade their image and perception...But sadly, they need to step up the pace because competition is raising the bar.

[LeftyMom]

25. Amen.

Union made Saturn SW1 in my driveway. 132K trouble-free miles and counting.

[Psephos]

28. LeftyMom, I like your style. :) n/t

[cal04]

29. Delphi Asks Judge to Cancel Labor Contracts

Delphi Corp. yesterday asked a federal bankruptcy court judge to void its union contracts, which paves the way for lower wages and benefits for Delphi workers and increases the chance of a strike at the auto-parts giant. At the same time, labor scholars said, Delphi's use of the bankruptcy court to attempt wage cuts further erodes the power of organized labor.

In its reorganization plan also released yesterday, Delphi -- which filed for bankruptcy protection in October -- said it plans to eliminate 8,500 salaried workers and close or sell 25 U.S. plants, affecting 23,000 hourly workers. Delphi's latest offer cuts wages to $16.50 per hour by 2007, down from $27 per hour. Newer workers would receive as little as $10 per hour. The United Auto Workers union, which represents most of Delphi's union workers, called the action outrageous and said a move to cancel the labor agreements would make it "impossible to avoid a strike." A court hearing on Delphi's request is scheduled for May 9 and 10 in New York.

Delphi chief executive Robert S. "Steve" Miller Jr. said in a written statement that the company remained committed to working toward a deal. But Miller said that "at the end of the day Delphi must be competitive in the global marketplace." The UAW said it saw no basis for continuing discussions with Delphi. Besides the UAW, Delphi workers are represented by the IUE-CWA and the United Steelworkers union. Those unions have also opposed Delphi's labor proposals.

If Delphi wins in court, the company could impose its latest offer and the old union contracts would disappear, along with their no-strike clause. According to a union spokesman, UAW local presidents and shop chairmen are calling Delphi's offer unacceptable. What's at stake with Delphi goes far beyond worker paychecks, labor scholars and industry analysts say.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/31/AR2006033100324.html

[BeatleBoot]

30. Get ready for strikes...

Check out this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2200085&mesg_id=2200085

[Cobalt Violet]

31. We will soon all be working poor.

"health-care plans, retirement benefits, vacations, work rules, holidays, overtime pay, working conditions and job security, as well as hourly wages".

Gone, all gone.