Ryan, Strickland form coalition to help Delphi

Ryan's staff sent e-mail to lawmakers who have plants in their districts.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan and Ted Strickland are establishing a coalition of U.S. House members with Delphi Corp. operations in their districts to see what can be done to help the ailing company.
Ryan, of Niles, D-17th, said the group will gather information on the nation's largest auto supplier's bankruptcy, work force and retiree issues to see if the federal government can help make the company viable and save jobs.
Ryan admits he doesn't know what the delegation can do at this time.
"But we need to be ready in case we can do something," he said. "We don't want to play catch-up. We don't want to wait until the last minute ... and not be ready to react."
Delphi filed for bankruptcy protection Saturday, and it wants workers' pay and benefits to be reduced by the second quarter of next year.
Ryan's staff sent e-mails to about 35 House members who have Delphi plants in their congressional districts. Delphi operates plants in 14 states.
About a dozen congressional staff members will meet today to discuss various Delphi issues, and House members will get together next week for the same reason.
Locally, the company has a complex on North River Road that lies in Warren, Howland and Bazetta, as well as plants in Cortland and Vienna. All are in Ryan's district and employ about 5,000 workers.
"We are committed to exploring every avenue to protect the livelihood of workers, retirees and the manufacturing capability critical to the U.S. auto industry and the communities where Delphi operations are located," Ryan said.
Strickland comments
Strickland, of Lisbon, D-6th, doesn't have any Delphi plants in his 12-county district. But there are Delphi workers and retirees in his district.
"The livelihoods of tens of thousands of former and current Delphi employees are at stake right now," he said. "Delphi's bankruptcy affects not only the employees [who] work directly for it, but the countless other manufacturers [that] supply parts to Delphi."
Delphi's pay rate of $27 an hour is double or triple what other suppliers pay for production work, according to Robert "Steve" Miller, the company's chief executive officer.
Might void contracts
The company intends to bargain with its unions throughout the rest of this year, even though it could seek emergency approval through bankruptcy court to void contracts, he said. If those talks fail, Delphi has asked for a court hearing Jan. 17 to void union contracts.
Delphi has 45 manufacturing sites in the United States and Canada that employ 49,000.