Union awaits pact offer

The union's lead negotiator is optimistic a deal can be reached by next week.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- The union representing workers at Delphi Packard Electric Systems is expecting a contract offer from the company any day now.
The two sides recessed bargaining Friday, with negotiators for Delphi Corp. saying they would draw up the offer, said Lauren Asplen, a spokeswoman for the International Union of Electrical Workers.
She said this would be the first proposal Delphi has made to the IUE since it withdrew an offer in December that would have cut hourly wages for production workers from $27 to $12.
Henry Reichard, the IUE's lead negotiator, told The Wall Street Journal he is optimistic that an agreement on job cuts and early retirements could be reached by the end of the month.
He said those issues are a "big thing" and settling those would clear the way for resolving many other issues.
Delphi has said it will ask a bankruptcy court judge to void its union contracts by March 31 if new labor deals aren't reached by then.
Reichard said the IUE deal may come soon after Delphi reaches a deal with the United Auto Workers, which represents most of the company's 34,000 hourly workers.
At Packard
IUE Local 717 represents about 3,800 hourly workers at Warren-based Packard, which makes wiring systems and related components.
Reichard declined to comment on the number of buyouts to be offered or what the size of the packages would be.
The Journal reported that UAW workers are expected to be offered as much as $35,000 each to retire from General Motors Corp. or Delphi.
GM is involved in the talks because it used to be Delphi's parent company. GM is liable for some of the pension and health-care coverage for Delphi workers who had been GM employees when the parts company was spun off as an independent company in 1999.
Jerry Dubrowski, a GM spokesman, told the Associated Press that negotiations between the UAW and GM on an early-retirement plan continued Tuesday. By reducing its work force, GM could free up slots so Delphi workers could return to GM, he said.
GM shares rose $1.15, or 5.5 percent, to close at $22 Tuesday.
shilling@vindy.com