By Joyce Kryszak
Lockport, NY – Police officials say more than a thousand people braved the cold outside Delphi's Lockport plant Wednesday to show support for unionized workers.
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A few solitary workers climbed atop ladders at Delphi's headquarters on Upper Mountain Road Wednesday in the cold. They fastened a giant Christmas wreath over the main doors.
But across the road, scores of angry workers carried signs proclaiming company Chief Executive Officer Steve Miller as the Grinch.
Paul Siejak, President of UAW Local 686, led the rally cry.
"Miller the decision is yours. We are ready to pursue all options and possibilities to protect our quality of life, for us, our families and our communities," said Siejak. "...solidarity! solidarity! solidarity!"
Siejak stopped short of saying whether or not those possibilities might include a strike. He said they are taking it one day at a time.
Meanwhile, Delphi's union workers, retirees and their families say they need to send a loud message to company officials.
Angela (who declined giving her last name)has worked at Delphi for six years and earns $26.30 an hour. She said Delphi's plan to slash wages by as much as 63 percent would be devastating.
"If somebody cut your wages sixty-three percent, I don't care if you make thirty dollars an hour or ten dollars an hour, you wouldn't be able to survive either."
Company officials will argue to a bankruptcy court in January that contracts need to be eliminated in order to keep some U.S. plants open.
UAW area director Kevin Donovan said the union has two tough battles. It's fighting to keep the Delphi plants in Lockport and Rochester open - while also trying to preserve wages and benefits.
Donovan said he isn't sure if they can win either. But he said the cost of losing is simply too high.
"Everybody somewhere in Western New York is connected somehow to the Delphi plant, either through a supplier or a neighbor, or a relative or somebody's connected somewhere along here," said Donovan. "That six degrees of separation really gets down to three degrees here in Western New York because we're so closely nit, and everybody is going to be touched by this, so it's important for all of us to send a message out. Look, we can't have this happen to us as a community. We need the help of everybody."
Union officials hope the community support will be as effective as it was in saving the Niagara Falls Air Force Base.