UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Richard Shoemaker have issued this statement on Delphi’s announcement that it will file Section 1113 and Section 1114 motions today with the US bankruptcy court in New York.
‘Delphi’s misuse of the bankruptcy procedure to circumvent the collective bargaining process and slash jobs and wages and drastically reduce health care, retirement and other hard-won benefits or eliminate them altogether, is a travesty and a concern for every American.
‘Delphi’s proposal goes far beyond cutting wages and benefits for active and retired workers. Delphi’s outrageous proposal would slash the company’s UAW-represented hourly workforce by approximately 75 per cent, devastating Delphi workers, their families and their communities.
‘Delphi’s filing Section 1113 and Section 1114 motions with the US bankruptcy court – like the quality of the proposals it has made to the UAW – is another indication that Delphi has never been serious about finding a solution to its current problems through the collective bargaining process.
‘The changes touted in Delphi’s most recent proposal are entirely contingent on GM’s financial support, but GM has advised us and stated publicly that it has not agreed to provide that funding. In other words, Delphi’s latest proposal is basically a reiteration of its previous proposal.
‘Last week, after many long, hard days and nights of negotiations, the UAW, GM and Delphi reached agreement on a Special Attrition Program that will reduce Delphi’s costs. That agreement, which was reached without an arbitrary, self-imposed deadline, created momentum that could have allowed the UAW, GM and Delphi to make progress in discussions focusing on other areas.
‘Unfortunately, Delphi’s filing of its 1113/1114 motions kills that momentum. Indeed, today it appears there is no basis for continuing discussions.
‘In the event the court rejects the UAW-Delphi contract and Delphi imposes the terms of its last proposal, it appears that it will be impossible to avoid a long strike.
‘The UAW has worked diligently in good faith to resolve the Delphi situation through collective bargaining instead of through a lawyer-driven court process or confrontation. Regrettably, Delphi has chosen another path.’
