Delphi's hearing delayed

Friday, August 18, 2006 According to the IUE, 3,130 local workers are going to take buyouts. STAFF/WIRE REPORTS DETROIT — A federal bankruptcy judge delayed until Sept. 18 a hearing on Delphi Corp.'s request for permission to scrap its labor contracts and impose lower wages and benefits on hourly workers. The United Auto Workers union said Judge Robert Drain in New York granted Delphi's request for the delay after a courthouse meeting with attorneys Thursday afternoon. At the September hearing, the union will present witnesses to counter Delphi's effort to throw out the contracts, the UAW said. The hearing had been scheduled for Thursday, then was delayed until today. Delphi also is seeking to end health and life insurance benefits for union-represented retirees. Delphi spokeswoman Claudia Piccinin said the judge granted the delay "to allow the parties to continue to make progress in their discussions." John W. Butler, a Delphi attorney, said the company and its former parent, General Motors Corp., continued to negotiate with the UAW and other unions representing Delphi's hourly workers — but he declined to indicate how close they might be to an agreement. "We believe it was in everyone's interest for the trial counsel to meet and confer today and have an off-the-record conference with the judge," Butler said. The unions have threatened to strike if the contract is scrapped, and GM officials have said a strike would be like playing Russian Roulette with the automaker's future. The UAW, Delphi's largest union, last week characterized the talks as disappointing. "Events over the past week have not materially changed that assessment," the union said Thursday in a statement on its Web site. Delphi, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, is the nation's largest auto parts supplier. It was spun off as a separate company by GM in 1999. Piccinin would not comment on whether the negotiators were making progress, but last week, GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner reported progress and said he was confident a deal would be reached. As of June 30, Delphi employed about 41,000 people, including 27,500 hourly workers. The auto parts maker has announced plans to close or sell 21 of its 29 U.S. plants. The company has said that it lost $2.6 billion in the first half of 2006, due largely to the cost of employee buyout and early retirement packages that are key to the company's bankruptcy reorganization. The loss was more than three times the $741 million that Delphi lost in the first half of 2005. Buyout acceptances About 12,500 workers represented by the United Auto Workers signed up for early retirement. More UAW members are eligible for buyout packages, which were offered later, and they have until Sept. 15 to decide. The 7,900 Delphi workers represented by the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America were offered similar deals. Some 3,800 of those work for Delphi Packard Electric in Warren. Of that number, 3,385 accepted the company-offered buyout. The number exceeded the company's goal of 2,800 — potentially leaving Packard with a hourly workforce of just 400. Those 3,385 had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to change their minds and rescind their decision. According to the IUE, 3,130 locally are still going to take the buyouts — meaning 255 changed their minds. Talia Hagler, WFMJ-TV 21 news reporter, was at the Bankruptcy Court in New York Thursday. She said there were no IUE officials in court. Delphi lawyer Butler commented that everyone was "moving forward in good faith," and that the company believes it is in everyone's best interests to negotiate a settlement — rather than let the court decide, Hagler said. Hagler said Atty. Tom Kennedy, representing the IUE/CWA, said the focus of the discussions the last few weeks has been between Delphi and GM to determine what GM's role would be in any settlement. Kennedy said it is difficult for the union to negotiate a deal with Delphi until it is determined what GM's role will be in any settlement, Hagler noted. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.