War on Labor Continues--63% pay cuts

From the Detroit Free Press:

Delphi Corp. has demanded such drastic cuts in wages and benefits for workers that, according to one UAW local union, its members would no longer be able to afford to buy the cars they help build.

According to a flyer sent to at least two UAW locals, the company is asking for wage cuts of as much as 63%, to $10 an hour.

Union members at several Delphi plants say they and their co-workers are not going to agree to such a severe change in their livelihood, even if it means that the company will end up declaring Chapter 11. But if the workers say no and Delphi goes bankrupt, the company could close plants, thousands of workers could be thrown out of work, and companies that depend on Delphi, including giant General Motors Corp., could also be thrown into disarray.

On $10 an hour, how many of these workers will be able to pay the mortgages and skyrocketing heating bills for the houses they bought when they were making $27 an hour?

According to the Kokomo and Lockport letters, Delphi's demands include the right to close, sell or consolidate most of its U.S. plants over the next three years, cut health care and pension benefits, and end cost-of-living pay increases.

Oh man, this is gonna be ugly.