Delphi talks progressing
January 13, 2006
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union is not talking directly with General Motors about Delphi.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Thursday he is hopeful about reaching an agreement with Delphi Corp. on a labor pact , and added that the union is not talking directly with General Motors Corp. about any role the automaker might take to avoid a strike at the parts supplier in bankruptcy.
Gettelfinger also said that the union hasn't decided whether to support giving the Chrysler Group the same health care package recently agreed to with GM and Ford Motor Co. Those deals lowered the automakers' costs by shifting some of the cost to retirees and deferring some of the future wages of current workers.
When asked about the Delphi talks before a speech in Southfield, Gettelfinger told the Free Press, " I'm just kind of hopeful that we can kind of work our way through this."
Last month, Delphi withdrew contract proposals it made in November that included cuts in wages of more than 63% and plans to eliminate 24,000, or 60%, of the jobs with its labor unions.
Delphi said it withdrew the proposals because GM agreed to enter into discussions that would allow it to offer a different deal. GM's involvement in the talks could avert a labor strike at its largest supplier making critical parts for its cars and trucks.
Gettelfinger said that the union was only speaking directly with Delphi, and he was not privy to discussions that Delphi was having with GM.
" There's no three-party talks going on, so to speak," he said before a dinner-time speech to the Detroit chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. " There has been some dialogue, but I wouldn't characterize it as negotiations," he said, referring to talks with Delphi.
Delphi filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 8 after efforts to win labor concessions from its unions and bailout money from GM failed. The Troy-based supplier expects to emerge from bankruptcy in summer 2007 after using the broad powers of bankruptcy court to cut the wages and benefits of its 34,000 hourly U.S. workers.
Gettelfinger said he was encouraged by progress at Delphi. " I think the progress that's been made, more than anything else, is the fact that Mr. Miller has saw fit to quit bargaining in the media."
Delphi CEO Steve Miller has angered autoworkers for declaring that their wages and benefits are too high. At the same time, the company proposed offering bonuses to top executives if they stayed with the company through the bankruptcy.
In addition to the Delphi talks, Chrysler also wants to speak with the union about its health care costs. DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche said this week that Chrysler Group will be at a disadvantage if it doesn't receive the same concessions on health care that GM and Ford got.
One difficulty for Chrysler is that UAW members approved the Ford concessions by a razor-thin 51% approval. Chrysler is in much better financial condition than Ford, which could make it more difficult for Chrysler workers to approve such a deal.
" There's no question it's a different situation," Gettelfinger said.
But he said that more than the current financial situation will be assessed. " If you back up three years ago, Chrysler was the one that was in the tank, so to speak. This is a cyclical business. I haven't said one way or the other what we're going to do at Chrysler."
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