Possibility of strike is strong, UAW says

The UAW president said talks won't resume until Delphi revises its wage offer.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
DETROIT -- A key United Auto Workers negotiator has told local union leaders that a strike against auto supplier Delphi Corp. "appears more likely than not," a UAW spokesman said Wednesday.
Delphi, the nation's largest auto supplier, has been operating under bankruptcy protection and is seeking steep wage cuts from its hourly workers.
UAW spokesman Paul Krell said the union's vice president, Richard Shoemaker, discussed the possibility of a strike with around 250 union leaders this week at a closed-door meeting in Detroit.
Shoemaker said "under current circumstances, a strike appears more likely than not. That can change, and we hope it does," according to Krell, who attended the meeting.
Shoemaker didn't give a time frame when a strike might occur, Krell said.
The company employs about 50,000 U.S. workers at 45 sites.
Delphi's plants in the Mahoning Valley, which employ about 3,800 hourly workers, are represented by the International Union of Electrical Workers. A union spokeswoman referred questions to Henry Reichard, who is overseeing talks with Delphi, and he couldn't be reached to comment.
Delphi spokeswoman Claudia Piccinin said Wednesday that the company is hoping to avoid a strike.
"We're going to continue on with our discussions with the unions toward a consensual restructuring plan, and that's where our focus is right now," she said. "We think a strike would not benefit any parties."
Delphi Chairman and CEO Robert S. "Steve" Miller has repeatedly said that a strike isn't in the workers' best interest, and that he thinks a strike can be avoided.
Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October, has asked its unions to agree to cuts in hourly workers' wages of more than 60 percent, from $27 an hour to between $10 and $12.50. Delphi says those wages are competitive with other union and nonunion suppliers.
Delphi said last week it's making progress in talks with its former parent, General Motors Corp., on a plan that could soften the blow for Delphi's hourly workers. No details were given, but analysts suggested GM may provide cash for Delphi employee buyouts or may agree to allow Delphi workers to flow back to GM, the world's biggest automaker.
Because of those talks, Delphi delayed a plan to ask a bankruptcy court judge Dec. 16 to void its union contracts, an action that could lead to a strike. Delphi now says it could ask the judge to void its contracts Jan. 20.
Stalled over wages
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said he hasn't taken part in the discussions between GM and Delphi and won't restart talks with Delphi until the company takes its current wage offer off the table.
"The last proposal that Delphi presented to this union is a road map to confrontation," Gettelfinger said.
A strike could be devastating to Delphi as well as GM, which relies on Delphi for billions of dollars' worth of parts. GM spent $14 billion on Delphi parts last year, or around 16 percent of its total spending on parts.