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 $12.50 -- are unfair, especially as Delphi has given bonuses to managers and other executives. United Auto Workers officials have said a strike against Delphi appears increasingly likely.
"To the Delphi workers here and everyone else, there are 380,000 union workers in the state of Indiana who will march in this battle with you," said Indiana AFL-CIO President Ken Zeller. "You are not alone."
Workers carried signs that read, "Delphi cooks the books/Workers get BURNED."
Delphi spokesman Lindsey Williams declined comment.
One in three jobs in Kokomo is tied to manufacturing, and the Howard County community is poised to take a heavy blow as its two big employers -- Delphi and DaimlerChrysler -- eye layoffs or pay cuts.
Delphi has been operating under bankruptcy protection since October and is seeking to cut hourly workers' wages by more than 60 percent.
Based in Troy, Mich., Delphi has about 6,000 employees in Indiana, most of whom work at the company's Electronics & Safety Division headquartered in Kokomo.
The company was founded in 1999 as a spin-off from General Motors. With 185,000 workers worldwide, Delphi is the nation's largest auto supplier.
"Southwest is union."
Right. Like I said, the old airlines cannot compete with the Southwest Airlines of the world.
Profitable manufacturing is not just a matter of cheap labor. The Japanese automakers have no difficulty making money at their American factories, and in fact, they are expanding their US operations right now. The primary differences are first, that they have no unions, and second, they are bigger on engineering.
Any Union
No, I don't want slaves, but I don't want unions, either.
BTW, it seems as though we have been requested to not make personal attacks.
Im not usually a Big Union supporter but this is wrong! They will me 160$ more a week than a full time fry cook!
You're dinosaur. You are fighting the last war against unions. Industrial unions are on the ropes. Government unions are on the rise. At least industrial workers make useful things ... they don't shuffle papers,harass taxpayers, and play video poker
You're right. Management is also overpaid. It's not just at Delphi, though. Every American corp. has this problem, and it stems from the fact that the shareholders don't have enough power. They should make management salaries contingent upon shareholder approval.
EYes, if there were no unions then we would not have a middle class. Are the needed everytime, no. But sometimes yes. You have the right to bargain for what you want, and asa group you have a better chance tp get it.
And for the record I am not a union member. My employer is far and pays well. I have no need of one. But some workers do.
This might be off topic, but I don't think you can say that Japanese auto makers are making more of a profit because they are nonunion. I think Japan basically has better quality engineering than American cars. Detroit has tried to emulate the Japanese, but haven't quite been able to do that.
I think you can agree that The Boeing Company is doing extremely well and has both blue collar and engineering unions. The Company works well with the engineering union. Airbust doesn't have unions per se, but they are socialist, which is a hell of lot worse, imo.
Normally I would agree (like the NorthWest Mechanics who would not go from 37$ an hour to 23$ an hour) but what do you expect them to do when they are going to pay people little more than they would make a wall mart greeting people...
"They will me 160$ more a week than a full time fry cook!"
Yes, and their job requires less skill than a fry cook! They should of course make less money than a fry cook.
I never said a thing about government workers?
I apologize - I meant that for dennisw - I'm making a list for Christmas shopping and posted to the wrong reply
Really? You would you be quicker to let an experienced fry cook build your canr or an experienced Auto work make you fries..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10206250/site/newsweek/
Interesting article about where this country is headed if we don't start doing something about it. Will our country turn into a welfare country if workers keep losing jobs? We should be asking what we can do to help this situation and how to make some reform. Getting rid of all the unions at this time is not the answer! Maybe conservatives should form our own union to make some change happen.
I guarantee with out them this would happen again. The companies spend millions to bribe, oh sorry campaing contribute to congress. They would lobby for relaxing labor laws in a heartbeat. Did they or did they not revamp the overtime laws a few years back. I know of two people who no longer get OT that did.
That's ok.
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