IUE negotiator's death delays Delphi pact talks

Reichard oversaw negotiations at both Delphi and General Motors.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
Contract negotiations at Delphi Corp. have been postponed after a union leader died.
Henry Reichard, 55, lead negotiator for the International Union of Electrical Workers, died Monday at his Dayton area home of an apparent heart condition.
"We are all greatly saddened at the sudden loss of a great friend and a great union man," said Jim Clark, IUE president.
Reichard's death came as union leaders were to gather Tuesday in the Detroit area to review a buyout proposal made Monday by the auto parts supplier.
That review and further talks with Delphi have been postponed until after the burial, the IUE said.
Negotiations
Delphi and its seven unions have been trying to reach agreements on new contract terms and the reduction of the company's hourly work force.
Delphi has asked a bankruptcy judge in New York to cancel the union contracts because of a lack of progress in bargaining. Hearings on that issue are being scheduled around the negotiations and the court's schedule.
Reichard was one of the witnesses to be called when the hearings resume. The unions are to begin presenting witnesses because Delphi completed its case Friday.
The IUE represents about 8,000 of Delphi's 34,000 hourly workers, including about 3,800 in the Mahoning Valley.
His career
Reichard was chairman of the union's automotive conference board, giving him authority over negotiations between the IUE and four other companies, covering 17,000 workers. One of those is General Motors Corp., which is a key player in the Delphi bankruptcy because it has financial obligations to the parts company as its former parent.
Reichard started with IUE's founding local, Local 755 in Dayton. He was hired by what is now Delphi Energy and Chassis Systems in 1969. He moved up through various union positions and joined the IUE District 7 staff as an organizer in 2000.
He was appointed to the conference board in 2001 as director of safety and was named conference board chairman last year.
Rick Wagoner, GM's chairman and CEO, said Reichard's death was "tragic news." Speaking from GM's annual meeting in Wilmington, Del., Wagoner described Reichard as a key figure in the negotiations over Delphi's restructuring.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.