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   Vol. 69/No. 49           December 19, 2005  
 
 
On the Picket Line
 
Auto workers in Indiana picket Delphi
plant to protest wage cuts
KOKOMO, Indiana-Carrying signs saying, "Delphi cooks the books. Workers get BURNED!" and "[Delphi CEO Robert] Miller: Morally Bankrupt," more than 100 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 292 set up an informational picket in front of the Delphi plant here to protest the auto supplier's bankruptcy plan. If approved, top executives would be paid huge bonuses while hourly workers receive drastic wage cuts. Delphi, the nation's largest auto parts producer, is seeking bankruptcy court approval for hourly wage cuts from $27 to between $10 and $12.50. Top execs would receive stock options and cash bonuses worth about $500 million. Delphi had requested a bankruptcy judge void the union contracts December 16, but this decision is now being delayed until January 20.

——Jerry Ulman  
 
600 rally in Detroit to back
Northwest Airlines strikers
ST. PAUL, Minnesota-Hundreds of striking mechanics and cleaners organized by the Airline Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) and their supporters rallied December 4 at the Crystal Gardens Convention Center in Detroit. The labor action protested the drive by Northwest Airlines to push all the unions off its property.

"An injury to one is an injury to all," said Ron Gettlefinger, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW), the Detroit Free Press reported. "We're not just fighting for union members, but for all workers."

The UAW has contributed $880,000 to the AMFA strike effort. Auto workers and members of the International Association of Machinists, Teamsters, and other unionists attended.

"We need unity with the other unions-now," Bob Rose, president of AMFA Local 5 in Detroit, said in an interview. "Union labor is being devastated. If we don't put aside our differences and band together, we'll die apart."

——Nelson González
 
 
Related articles:
New York: teaching assistants rally for contract (photo box)
Janitors in Houston win battle for union
Truckers at Los Angeles port fight lower pay and longer hours
Independent truckers in Houston win strike  
 
 
 
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