Delphi Packard workers in Valley OK contract

WARREN — Delphi-Packard Electric employees represented by International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America have overwhelmingly approved a new labor contract.

About 74 percent of the membership approved the contract in voting Friday and Saturday, Mike O’Donnell, shop chairman, said late Saturday night.

O’Donnell said he believed the approval resulted from workers’ concerns about “their jobs, their future and the security of retirees.”

Results from all Delphi IUE locals were expected by today. O’Donnell said that he believes the strong vote by Delphi Packard workers in Local 717 indicates the contract will likely be approved nationwide.

The IUE represents about 2,000 Delphi workers, including nearly 700 at Delphi Packard Electric plants in the Mahoning Valley. Local Packard plants produce components for vehicle wiring harnesses.

The union said previously that the proposal includes retirement options and “buy down” payments. The IUE said its deal also includes “advancement prospects” for temporary workers.

The IUE represents about 2,000 Delphi workers, including nearly 700 at Delphi Packard Electric plants in the Mahoning Valley. Local Packard plants produce components for vehicle wiring harnesses.

Plants also are in the Dayton suburbs of Kettering and Moraine.

The United Auto Workers, Delphi’s largest union, agreed to a payment of $105,000 over three years in exchange for cutting hourly wages for production workers from $27 to between $14 and $18.50.

The UAW contract also includes buyouts of between $70,000 and $140,000 and a retirement incentive of $35,000.

A bankruptcy court has approved the Troy, Mich.-based Delphi’s agreement with the UAW, which represents 17,000 Delphi workers, including those at a plant in Sandusky.

Delphi has said it wants to close or sell most of its 29 U.S. plants as it restructures and shrinks itself into a smaller company — including six of its 10 plants in Ohio.