Car Parts Maker Moves to Break Its Union Deals

[Sapphire Blue]

Car Parts Maker Moves to Break Its Union Deals
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: April 1, 2006

DETROIT, March 31 — Delphi, the nation's biggest auto parts maker, on Friday asked a federal judge for permission to throw out some of its labor agreements, a move that could cost 20,000 union workers their jobs and leave thousands of others with less than half their current wages.

Delphi, which is operating in bankruptcy, wants the judge's permission to impose sharply lower wages and benefits on six unions, setting up a confrontation that its largest union, the United Automobile Workers, said could lead to a lengthy strike.

A strike could also cripple General Motors, which spun off Delphi in 1999 and remains its biggest customer. And any harm to G.M. could eviscerate the U.A.W.'s own influence as one of the nation's most socially progressive and powerful unions, while accelerating the slide of the American auto industry.

(snip)

David L. Gregory, professor of labor law at St. John's University in New York, said, "This is really for all practical purposes a frontal challenge to the reason for existence of the U.A.W."

Continued @ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/01/business/01delphi.htm

[readmoreoften]

1. As a member of the UAW, let me sigh in exhaustion.

I'm on strike with UAW Local 2110 right now and I hate that this is looming over our heads. This isn't good. As problematic as the union can be, it's galaxies better than the alternative.

I wish there were more union talk at DU.

[teamster633]

2. I wish you the best of luck, my brother.

What a fucked up society where corporations are "people" and labor is a "commodity", to be bought low and sold high. We certainly wouldn't want no unions getting in the way of "progress".

[LiberalPartisan]

3. The inevitible strike

will kill off Delphi. But the senior execs. will have made sure to get their take before leaving.

[Twist_U_Up]

5. The powers that be have instilled their thoughts

into the robots that the Unions are a bad thing. People dont realize that their wages,safety and benefits are 100% because of Unions.

living in a box are most americans

[Virginia Dare]

4. Say goodbye to one of the last vestiges of Democracy...

the right to join unions. Mission accomplished Chimpy boy.

:-(