UAW Warns Strikes Loom: Delphi, Tower Union Contracts are in Jeopardy

Leaders of the United Auto Workers told members Tuesday that a strike is possible at Delphi Corp. and likely at Tower Automotive Corp. if both companies maintain their current demands. UAW Vice President Richard Shoemaker said, while talks among Delphi, the UAW and General Motors Corp. are in progress, "it would be less than candid to say that any progress has been made toward resolving the fundamental issues."

From Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — Leaders of the United Auto Workers told members Tuesday that a strike is possible at Delphi Corp. and likely at Tower Automotive Corp. if both companies maintain their current demands.

UAW Vice President Richard Shoemaker said, while talks among Delphi, the UAW and General Motors Corp. are in progress, “it would be less than candid to say that any progress has been made toward resolving the fundamental issues.

“We are not going to do precisely what Delphi wants us to do,” Shoemaker told the 1,600 delegates to the UAW’s political convention in Washington. “Delphi’s continued insistence on that basis will surely lead to a long strike, and that is true whether it involves other corporations or does not involve other corporations.”

Delphi, the largest U.S. auto-parts supplier and GM’s largest parts builder, filed for bankruptcy protection in October and proposed in November wage cuts of more than 63 percent and plans to eliminate 24,000, or 60 percent, of the jobs with its labor unions. The UAW represents about 24,000 workers at Delphi.

Delphi later withdrew those proposals once GM became involved in talks. GM has said it could face between $3.6 billion and $12 billion in liabilities for Delphi employees, and a strike at Delphi could close much of its North American manufacturing and even push it into bankruptcy.

Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams said Tuesday that, while the company needs to move forward with its business, it understands the need for a settlement.

“We continue to work with all of our unions, including the UAW, to remove the barriers where we can that will allow us to get a consensual agreement,” he said.

The auto-parts maker can ask a bankruptcy court to void its labor contracts starting Feb. 17, and GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner has said it would be hard to reach a deal by then. Shoemaker said, if Delphi succeeds in voiding the UAW contract in court, “it will probably be impossible to avoid a strike.”

Hourly workers at Novi, MI-based Tower voted to approve a strike last month, as the company proposed wage reductions of $1.50 to $3 per hour from current rates of $12 to $15 an hour.

Tower has asked a bankruptcy court to throw out its contracts covering 3,000 workers. UAW Vice President Bob King said, should Tower prevail in court, a strike is likely in early March. Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG are Tower’s largest customers.

“If that’s the position they force on our membership, we’re not afraid of it, and we’ll fight it with every fiber of our being,” King said.

Tower spokesman Joel Weiden said Tuesday that Tower is “committed to negotiating with the union and reaching an agreement outside the court process, and we are ready to meet with them at any time.”

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