Posted on 12/11/2005 11:18:40 AM PST by Brilliant
KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) -- At least a thousand people rallied in central Indiana against steep wage cuts proposed by auto parts manufacturer Delphi Corp., which has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Workers say the proposed cuts -- from $27 an hour to between $10 and $12.50 -- are unfair, especially as Delphi has given bonuses to managers and other executives. United Auto Workers officials have said a strike against Delphi appears increasingly likely.
"To the Delphi workers here and everyone else, there are 380,000 union workers in the state of Indiana who will march in this battle with you," said Indiana AFL-CIO President Ken Zeller. "You are not alone."
Workers carried signs that read, "Delphi cooks the books/Workers get BURNED."
Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams declined comment.
One in three jobs in Kokomo is tied to manufacturing, and the Howard County community is poised to take a heavy blow as its two big employers -- Delphi and DaimlerChrysler -- eye layoffs or pay cuts.
Delphi has been operating under bankruptcy protection since October and is seeking to cut hourly workers' wages by more than 60 percent.
Based in Troy, Mich., Delphi has about 6,000 employees in Indiana, most of whom work at the company's Electronics & Safety Division headquartered in Kokomo.
The company was founded in 1999 as a spin-off from General Motors. With 185,000 workers worldwide, Delphi is the nation's largest auto supplier.
"If they did nothing, this type of thing would continue unchecked."
When a company is paying wages much higher than the competition they are either going to have to cut wages or go out of business.
Look at the unions at the airlines. They either agree to lower wages or the companies go out of business. The old airlines cannot compete with the Southwest Airlines of the world.
All unions suck. Look at the disaster that white collar teachers unions have caused in education.
I had a union job for 6 months during the worst part (so far) of the tech crash. I did inventory in a food distribution warehouse, 3rd shift. I made the mistake of locating a missing box of product (it had fallen into the adjoining bin) and since it was all of five pounds, and the truck it was supposed to be on was on my way back to the office, I brought it with me. The loading supervisor (also the shop steward) accused me of taking a union "brother"'s job.
Silly me, I thought doing the best I could for the company that signed my paycheck was the right thing to do.
You willing to LOSE your job?
Right you are! In fact without the easy credit being thrown around these people would not be making on dad's check alone.
I doubt that most will be homeless. They will be forced to sell their cottages in northern Michigan, their boats and snowmobiles for sure, but homeless? I live in "cottage country" in Michigan. If they sell now, they will get top dollar for their cottages and hopefully be able to maintain the primary residences.
A few years ago I took a cut from a six-figure income to $0. But I had money saved for a rainy day, and now I'm back on my feet again. Life is tough, wear a helmet.
There are so many anti working class idiots here. Would you work for $12 an hour? Lets get real here.
They are being busted down to $12/hour. Are you happy now?
They obviously think they can find workers for that price. If they can't then they'll have to pay more.
$12/hour for Delphi workers is not a plus for America. It's a sign of failure and to see Freepers gloating over this is disgusting
Who's gloating over it? I'd like to see the company survive, but the fact is that $27 an hour, plus another $27 or so in benefits is not going to do it.
I'm with you. My husband is a nonunion employee in a union shop. He has been "grieved" by the union so many times its ridiculous. Example: his plant, which manufactures parts, was about to be late in shipping parts down to Detroit, which in turn would have shut down the assembly line. So he pitched in and helped box and load parts in order to make the shipment on time. Well guess what? He was grieved by the union for doing a "union job". What idiots. I could give many more similar examples.
It is my understanding from reading about this that the $27.50 is BEFORE benefits. For example, a GM assembly line worker makes $31.50hr and with healthcare and legacy costs, it comes to $65.00hr. I feel bad for the workers but striking will just force Delphi to move the work to China. Would not surprise me to see Ford and GM file bankruptcy to get out from underneath the pension/healthcare issue. A real shame as we continue to lose more and more manufacturing jobs to other countries.
Are you from Michigan? There are UAW suppliers in northern Michigan whose employees will never see $27.00 an hour under any circumstance. These people feel no sympathy for their union "brothers and sisters" downstate. In fact, they are hoping to benefit from this. It was quite the revelation to many of them to find out what the Delphi and GM employees were really making. Believe me, there will be a line of people a mile long willing to work at Delphi for $12 an hour, no doubt about it.
Most of the Delphi workers are former GM employees who took their wages/benefits and seniority with them when Delphi was spun off. So, there could be a lot of employees with 25-30 years.
Excellent philosophy...
Merry Christmas and good luck.
see post #155
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