Warren chapter of IUE-CWA chapter rejects tentative agreement with Delphi Corporation

Staff report

WARREN

Local 717 of the IUE-CWA rejected a tentative contract agreement with Delphi Packard Electric on Sunday.

Members of the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers – Communications Workers of America rejected the proposed pact by a wide margin.

Edward Salus, president of the Warren-based IUE-CWA Local 717, said the sticking point was wages, though the union did not demand a specific a dollar amount.

“What I heard from members was that the contract just didn’t provide livable wages,” Salus said.

The contract also outlined a seniority-based wage system rather than the existing tiered system, Salus said.

Voting took place from 1 to 8:15 p.m. Sunday at the IUE Union Hall in Warren. Of the members who voted, 34 percent voted in favor and 66 percent voted against the agreement. A simple majority of 51 percent would have been necessary for the agreement to stand.

Salus said about 530 of the chapter’s 668 members showed up to vote.

The union will return to the negotiating table with Delphi, Salus said, adding there is no negotiating deadline and that a strike is not on the table right now.

Delphi Packard Electric, which operates plants in Warren and Vienna in Trumbull County, could not be reached to comment.

Delphi Automotive is a former subsidiary of General Motors.