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.
Where do you get your information? Do you know anything about the ethics committment I was referring to and why some other people didn't want to sign it? Do you know any of the facts of what the union was demanding? It sounds like you just want to be argumentative without any facts or data.
If you were forced to sign something and didn't know what it was, but yet if you didn't sign it, you would get fired. Would you sign it without talking to your lawyer? Or would you just blindly sign it? Many people at work didn't know what it was all about and needed help. What is wrong with that?
You willing to take LESS money as earned income?
And I feel that I know a bit about your situation - lets see the Union leadership in Wichita Kansas thinks that because IDS made a 17% profit the company can "afford" to pass it on to the workers. Sounds like a shake down to me.
I don't know about Wichita. You know, it just seems like all you want to do is argue and you are being very derogatory. Maybe I should get a moderator involved.
This is from your own company website:
At Boeing we've heard a lot about "more team and less family". We have also had our fill of shareholder value. When we question our leaders, they defend these concepts with responses like "Well you can't fire a family member when they mess up" and "We're all committed to maximizing shareholder value." It seems to me that the scales have tipped a bit too far toward the shareholders and away from employees ..
So you truly believe that a company should be controlled by a paid organization, rather than be directed by the people who actually own the company?
Lady, I don't know where you are coming from and I never told you where I worked, so lay off.
I am not responding to you anymore.
Have you forgotten the welcome we gave you when you first came to FR? I'm so sorry you have forgotten me so easily - we were so fond of you.
Former union worker. Current non-union worker. 31 years old. And I know that a legal contract is a legal contract. Are you arguing otherwise?
The bottom line is that $27/hour for unskilled work is an artificially high pay rate.>>>>>>>>>>>>
I confess to having no knowledge of what these people actually do at Delphi. Could you state on what basis you have determined that they are unskilled?
You seem pretty sensitive about not having a college degree, don't you?
I stated that raises should be based on increased productivity and value added to the company. I did not mention anything about a college degree.
It is OK that you do not have a college degree. I do not hold that against you. If you want to stick up for union thugs and think that the wages they have extorted from companies are fully justified, go right ahead and be a union cheerleader.
Just because a person is too stupid or too lazy to get an education or develop a skill that does not mean that they should be not able to bully their way to earning the income of an educated or skilled person, at least until reality sets in and the high wages drive the company into bankruptcy.
"I would rather see people get paid enough at work so they don't have to empower government."
You sound like a democrat, i.e., one who is very good at spending other people's money in an effort to help your fellow man.
If you are so concerned about people having good paying jobs, I suggest that you start your own company, make sure your workers are unionized, and they you just go right ahead and pay them as much as you like. I certainly support your right to pay your workers as much as you think is fair.
If it was a choice between that or no income, yes.
"At 25, I was not making enough to pay all of my own bills even with a masters degree."
Well, either you should have majored in engineering instead of social work, or you should have not spent so much money on those flashy cloths and cars, booze, and broads. No one respects a deadbeat.
It used to be true. In the days of labor unrest and the "Battle of the Overpass," placating the unions was a useful tool. But the union wage scale has gotten so out of control and union meddling in management business has become so prevalent, that it's driving a lot of companies out of business. I don't see how that can be spun as "good."
"we are nuts and everyone is making higher real wages than ever before"
You are wrong, but probably not nuts. No one claims that "everyone" is making higher real wages, but people, on average, are doing better than every.
Union thugs in manufacturing jobs are not doing so well, since their wages were artificially high and global competition is eliminating their jobs, much to the benefit of the average consumer.
"a good working relationship with the unions..."
The problem with that approach is that it ignores the fact that you've got to compete with nonunion manufacturing, both US based, and foreign. Of course, we could stymie the competition, but that isn't good for America, either.
High school graduates who were paid $27/hr. with fat benefits could not compete with Chinese workers getting $.50/hr. with no benefits. Anyone with a brain could see this could not last. Delphi will shut down, and then there will be no jobs and no health benefits and pensions will be foisted off on the US taxpayers through the federal pension guarantee. Of course, the pensioners will get only half what Delpi was giving them. GM will soon follow suit. Totally unrealistic union contracts killed the US auto industry, just as my sainted father predicted long ago.
I could, but wouldn't like it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.