Anyone who can write about what Delphi workers and their supporters are doing? Reports, analyses, calls to action, photos, etc. -- anything is welcome. Contact me at <yoshie at monthlyreview.org>.
<blockquote>Action by UAW could slow work at Delphi N.Y. union tells plant workers not to go extra mile October 28, 2005 BY JASON ROBERSON FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER <http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/delphi28e_20051028.htm> Union leaders at one of Delphi Corp.'s largest plants are circulating a call for a work action that could slow down production at the nation's largest auto supplier. It was the first shot across the bow by unions since Delphi proposed severe pay and benefit cuts. In a flyer obtained by the Free Press, UAW Local 686 in Lockport, N.Y., suggested to its more than 4,700 members who make radiators and other vital auto components that they not go above and beyond the call of duty, which essentially means the union seeks to slow down the plant. A work slowdown or stoppage at Delphi plants could severely hamper automakers that depend on a steady flow of parts from the supplier, particularly former parent General Motors Corp., which remains its largest customer.. Dan Savino, who has put in five years at the Lockport plant, said Thursday that the mood among workers is grim. "We were basically told, 'Do your job, but don't go the extra mile,' " Savino said. "We're so angry that we're ready to go on strike right now to fight for what we believe in." Delphi Chief Executive Officer Steve Miller told the Free Press on Oct. 21: "Any plant that wants to be at the top of our plant closure list should engage in industrial action as a way of sending that message." Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy Oct. 8, asked the UAW last week to accept severe cuts in wages and benefits -- including starting pay of $9 an hour -- to help the company survive. "It may not be in your best interest to go above and beyond for any manager representing the company that is attempting to strip you of everything you have earned," the local told members. The current contract that Delphi has with its unions does not allow workers to strike. Delphi could be permitted to reject its union contracts in an attempt to reorganize its money-losing business. "And if that happens," Savino said, "we would strike." Work to rule Delphi is a critical supplier as GM gears up for the key launch next year of new full-size pickups and SUVs. Crippling strikes at two Delphi parts plants in Flint in 1998 virtually shut down GM across North America for almost two months, causing its U.S. sales and market share to drop and costing the automaker about $2 billion. Local 686 is suggesting what industry insiders call work to rule. That means employees perform no duties beyond the rules of the workplace, often spelled out in union contracts, in order to slow production at plants. Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California- Berkeley, said the flyer "hints at work to rule." He added that "it serves to notify Delphi management that all is not well on the shop floor." A slowdown at a Delphi plant the size of Lockport's could throw a monkey wrench into the entire auto supply industry. Auto suppliers are in many ways indirectly dependent on one another, though they are often seen as competitors. Take Lear Corp., an automotive interior systems supplier, for example. The Southfield-based company told investors in a conference call Wednesday that if Delphi encounters strikes or slowdowns in fulfilling orders to GM and other customers, it would eventually affect Lear. Lear is heavily dependent on the pickup market of GM, Ford and Chrysler and cannot afford a slowdown of customer orders. Restructuring in bankruptcy Delphi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after efforts to win concessions from its labor unions and a multibillion-dollar bailout from former owner GM failed. The filing gives Delphi -- which lost $4.8 billion last year and $741 million through the first six months of this year -- relief from its creditors while it develops a plan that will include closing plants and imposing lower wages and benefits on workers. Delphi expects to emerge from bankruptcy in 2007. On Thursday, Delphi won approval to borrow as much as $2 billion from lenders to pay employees and suppliers while it restructures in bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported. Delphi's most recent cost-cutting proposal to the UAW demanded that the union accept hourly wages of $9.50 to $10.50, compared with $25 to $27 an hour today, along with major benefit concessions, such as higher out-of-pocket health care costs with no vision and dental insurance, frozen pensions, less vacation and restricted overtime. Delphi and its unions must agree on revisions to labor agreements by mid-December or Delphi will ask the bankruptcy judge for permission to void the contracts. Union efforts elsewhere Workers also are taking action at other Delphi plants. In Dayton, Ohio, workers participated in a so-called march for jobs Tuesday, according to the Dayton Daily News. Two weeks after Delphi filed for bankruptcy, a group of union workers at GM's Flint Truck and Bus plant started brainstorming on how they could send a message to Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, who is presiding over Delphi's case. They launched an online petition under the title "Hold Delphi Accountable." The petition is available at www.thepetitionsite.com. [Cf. <http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/570770279>] "We're looking for 150,000 signatures," said Debi Kirchner, the union's petition organizer. At the close of business Thursday, the petition had 405 signatures. The Michigan regional effort led members to post flyers in Laundromats and grocery stores and even take an ad out in the local Sunday newspaper. Kirchner took the initiative to send copies to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and other politicians, though Kirchner said she never considered herself much of an activist. Said Kirchner: "I can't say I've ever been mad enough." Contact JASON ROBERSON at 313-222-8763. Business writer Michael Ellis contributed to this report.</blockquote> Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org> * Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/07/mahmoud- ahmadinejads-face.html>; <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/07/chvez- congratulates-ahmadinejad.html>; <http://montages.blogspot.com/ 2005/06/iranian-working-class-rejects.html>
