Talks with unions extended

Delphi extended the deadline for contract agreements to the end of March.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
WARREN -- Delphi Packard Electric Systems workers are welcoming signs of serious negotiations after four months of talk of imposed pay and benefit cuts and a possible strike.
Union leaders informed them Friday of Delphi Corp.'s decision to continue negotiating on a new labor deal, rather than seek the right to impose concessions.
"It gives us a little bit more hope," said Michelle Montgomery, 46, of Warren, as she left work at Packard's North River Road complex.
The company now says it will try to settle with its unions and General Motors Corp. by March 30. Previously, it had a self-imposed deadline of Friday.
While Montgomery said she was glad that deadline was extended, she said she hopes the matter can be resolved soon.
"Everyone's life is in disarray," she said.
Other workers said the extension indicates that Delphi and the unions are ready to bargain seriously. Most of those interviewed said they expected to take some concessions but nothing close to original cutbacks requested by Steve Miller, Delphi chairman and chief executive.
Company proposals
Miller first proposed cutting production workers' hourly wages from $27 to $9.50 and later revised that offer to $12.
He has said that if unions don't reach a deal with the company, Delphi will ask a bankruptcy court judge to void the union contracts so Delphi can impose its own wage and benefit terms. Another motion under consideration would end health-care benefits and life insurance for retirees.
Miller said Friday that those motions will be filed March 31 if talks with the unions and GM don't produce agreements.
"While major obstacles and difficult issues remain to be resolved, the discussions to date with GM and our major unions helped frame the concerns and objectives of each organization," he said.
Locally, about 3,800 Delphi workers are represented by Local 717 of the International Union of Electrical Workers.
The IUE had not been involved in the talks with Delphi until recently, but a union official said he is encouraged by the status of the talks.
"With all the stakeholders now fully engaged, it gives us the opportunity to work through these very complex and very difficult issues," said Henry Reichard, chairman of the IUE's automotive conference board.
Unions predict strikes
Officials with both the IUE and United Auto Workers have predicted strikes if a judge cancels union contracts.
While IUE locals have scheduled strike-authorization votes in March, Reichard said production will continue for now.
"During the weeks ahead, we are confident our members will continue to produce world-class products and minimize disruptions to ensure our continued success," he said.
Most of Delphi's 34,000 hourly workers are represented by the UAW. That union issued a release Friday that said that Delphi's delay of the filing of court motions is a positive step but that there are "many significant issues to be resolved."
GM is involved in the talks because it has obligations to excess Delphi workers because of commitments it made when it spun off Delphi as a separate company in 1999. The parts supplier used to be part of GM.
Analysts have said GM is considering buyouts for Delphi workers or agreements that ensure Delphi workers can get jobs at GM. GM has said it expects to spend between $3.6 billion and $12 billion on benefits promised to Delphi workers.
shilling@vindy.com