Wednesday, November 22, 2006
From staff/wire reports
DETROIT — Thousands of Delphi Corp. workers hired as temporary employees will become permanent under an agreement reached with the United Auto Workers union, the auto parts maker confirmed Wednesday.
The pact, first announced Tuesday night by union President Ron Gettelfinger, has raised hopes of workers at some of Delphi’s U.S. plants that their jobs are more secure.
Delphi spokeswoman Claudia Piccinin confirmed that an agreement had been reached but said the company would release details next week.
The company employs about 13,000 workers in Ohio in the Dayton, Warren, Columbus and Sandusky areas.
The agreement between Delphi and the UAW does not directly impact Delphi Packard hourly workers at the Warren plants, who are represented by International Union of Electrical Workers Local 717.
It could, however, affect negotiations here about temporary employees in the future, said Don Arbogast, shop chairman and chief negotiator for Local 717. Arbogast said he tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to get a copy of the agreement.
Arbogast said Delphi Packard has only about 85 temporary employees at this point.