BY BRAD DOWNS
WARREN, Ohio - More than 8,000 members of International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE) Local 717 shut down Delphi Packard Electric Systems May 13. The walkout halted production and distribution at all 18 Delphi plants in northeastern Ohio. Delphi is a subsidiary of General Motors. Like the United Auto Workers (UAW) members currently on strike at GM plants in Oklahoma City and Pontiac, Michigan, these IUE members struck for a local contract. Although a national IUE contract, which covers base pay and most benefits, has been settled, Local 717 member have been without a local agreement since September.

Workers rejected the company's first contract offer March 23 by a two-to-one margin. Strikers have complained about the company's plans to outsource jobs, as well as the inferior wages and benefits that newer workers receive. Last year the company said it was eliminating 1,800 wire-cutting jobs from its plants in Ohio.

Previous national contract agreements established second- and third-tier wage scales. A second-tier hiring plan agreed to in 1984 allowed Delphi Packard to hire workers at 55 percent of base rate, then about $7 an hour. These workers don't gain pay parity with first-tier workers for 10 years. Those hired under the third-tier plan established in 1993 receive 55 percent of the 1990 contract hourly base pay rate, about $10 an hour, with reduced benefits. They never reach parity.

Delphi Packard supplies parts for 20 auto makers world wide. At the plants shut down by the strike, workers make wiring harnesses, printed circuit boards, battery cables, ignition cables, and other electronic components that are used in nearly all GM vehicles. After IUE officials reached a tentative agreement with the company, workers on picket duty were told to report to work for their scheduled shifts on May 14. Officials announced that details of the agreement would be given to the union membership after they returned to work.

Brad Downs is a member of UAW Local 1005 in Parma, Ohio. Mike Fitzsimmons, a member of UAW Local 2015 in Cleveland, contributed to this article.  
 
 
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