By Mark Scott
Detroit, MI – Employees at Delphi's Lockport plant were listening closely Monday as the company's CEO Steve Miller addressed the Detroit Economic Club. Miller said the troubled auto parts supplier will keep talking with the United Auto Workers union about wage and benefit cuts until they reach a deal.
Delphi announced last Friday that it was planning to keep its Lockport plant open. But many of the workers there remain uneasy because of the prospects of a strike if Delphi succeeds in the courts to invalidate its labor contracts. In his Monday address, Miller had nothing but kind words for employees.
"I'm not blaming our work force. Delphi workers are loyal, dedicated ans skilled at their craft," Miller said. "Our production levels and quality gains, even in the tough year of 2005, could not have been possible without them."
Still, the United Auto Workers warned Friday that "it will be impossible to avoid a long strike" if the judge agrees to void the contracts and Delphi imposes its most recent wage proposal. Miller says Delphi can't keep talking and losing money indefinitely.
"Despite the negative views expressed by some, we see the filings as a means to keep the process going," Miller said. "Think of it as an insurance policy. It's something you need to have, but hope you'll never use."
Miller vowed the company will not leave the negotiating table. He said they'll keep at it until they have a deal. Following his address, Miller was asked point blank by a reporter if Delphi could avoid a strike. He responded "absolutely."