Delphi postpones bargaining agreement rejection request to continue talks with GM, major unions

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 17 - Delphi Corp. will continue talks in an effort to achieve comprehensive collective bargaining agreements with General Motors Corp. and its major unions no later than March 30, according to a company news release.

If no agreement is reached, Delphi said it will file a motion to reject its collective bargaining agreements by March 31 and request court approval to terminate hourly post-retirement health care plans and life insurance.

Previously, Delphi said it would file the motion to reject the collective bargaining agreements no sooner than Friday.

"While major obstacles and difficult issues remain to be resolved, the discussions to date with GM and our major unions helped frame the concerns and objectives of each organization," Delphi chairman and chief executive officer Robert S. "Steve" Miller said in the release.

"As we have said before, we remain committed to reaching a consensual agreement. This deadline should provide us sufficient time to deal with the complexities inherent in fashioning practical and workable solutions and an effective agreement that works for all of us."

United Auto Workers' president Ron Gettelfinger and vice president Richard Shoemaker, who directs the union's General Motors and Delphi departments, issued their own release on Friday, saying, "We have said consistently that the only basis of finding satisfactory resolution to these matters is through the use of the collective bargaining process with Delphi, GM and the UAW at the bargaining table.

"In recent weeks, the parties have held several such meetings. While there are many significant issues to be resolved, Delphi's decision to delay the filing of the Sections 1113 and 1114 motions provides the opportunity for that process to work and is certainly a positive action."

Delphi, a Troy, Mich.-based automotive electronics manufacturer, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 8 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Its Chapter 11 case number is 05-44481.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.