Delphi workers launch fightback

Some 1,000 workers from the auto parts company Delphi and their supporters packed Courthouse Square here on Dec. 10, sending the message that "labor rights are human rights" to Delphi CEO Steve Miller and his buddies at federal bankruptcy court.

Unions in over 100 cities across the country had chosen International Human Rights Day to hold rallies on this theme.

Larry Cohen, president of the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communication Workers of America (IUE-CWA), announced the M@D campaign. M@D, which stands for Mobilize @ Delphi, has been launched by the Delphi Union Coalition: the Autoworkers (UAW), Steelworkers (USWA), IUE-CWA, and three other unions that represent Delphi workers in the U.S.

"To show how 'M@D' we are, we're wearing red every Thursday," said Cohen. "We need to have actions every week."

Delphi CEO Miller's outrageous attack on organized labor has left the unions no other choice but to fight. Delphi declared bankruptcy after the UAW rejected a package of "proposals" that included reducing wages from $27 an hour to $9.50, gutting the pension plan, eliminating Supplementary Unemployment Benefits (SUB) and the job bank, dropping dental and vision coverage, cutting back vacations and holidays, imposing an attendance policy that would bypass grievance procedures to fire workers permanently, wiping out seniority rights, outsourcing most skilled trades work, and allowing the company to close plants and lay off workers at its sole discretion.

The only aspect of the current contract that Delphi would keep is the "no strike" clause.

The UAW has also rejected a second offer from Delphi that would "only" reduce hourly wages to $12 an hour.

Both the IUE-CWA and the UAW represent Delphi workers in the Dayton area and around Ohio, and both were well represented at the rally. A large and visible contingent also came from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. AFSCME and other non-Delphi unions know that if the bosses break the UAW, no union's wages and benefits are safe.

Besides Cohen, speakers included Director Lloyd Mahaffey of UAW Region 2B, which covers all of Ohio; UAW Local 696 President Joe Buckley; USWA Ohio Regional Director Dave McCall; Ohio AFL-CIO President Bill Burga; Congress member Tim Ryan, and Montgomery County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman. The crowd waved signs and roared approval whenever the speakers talked fightback.

The program had its drawbacks. Out of perhaps a dozen speakers, not one was a person of color and only two were women. Interspersed with militant agitation against Delphi were reactionary appeals to national chauvinism and bashing China for "stealing jobs," when it is U.S. corporations who opt to move production overseas and demand low wages.

Rank and file is fighting

Independent of the official UAW leadership, rank-and-file Delphi workers and their supporters have organized themselves as "Soldiers of Solidarity" (SOS).

SOS has already held meetings in Michigan and other states, attracting hundreds of workers wherever they go. They understand that their real fight is not with their sluggish and compromising union leaders but with Delphi and ultimately General Motors. They are not, however, waiting for official approval to begin the fight.

Central to SOS's strategy is the concept of "work to rule." Work to rule involves slowing production solely by following the company's own rules to the letter. At a recent SOS meeting in Flint, Mich., workers from a number of plants described how they are insisting on obeying all safety regulations, rejecting parts and vehicles of substandard quality, and otherwise refusing to cooperate with management unless absolutely mandatory.

This is empowering the workers. "Workers rule when they work to rule," explained Gregg Shotwell, leader and spearheader of SOS, in his opening remarks to the Flint meeting. "We are not victims, we have power." Work to rule prepares workers psychologically to think about the next step.

On the question of whether or not to strike, Shotwell posed the question, "Why not stay inside?" This sentiment was seconded in a number of comments during a three-hour meeting dominated by the rank and file attendees. At least half a dozen speakers identified themselves as sons or grandsons of the original Flint sit-down strikers of the 1930s.

Other ideas offered include a one-day nationwide work stoppage, having retirees use their free time to build support among teamsters and dockworkers, and reaching out to Delphi workers in other countries. Workers in Brazil, where Delphi has a subsidiary, have already contacted the group, offering support. The SOS steering committee announced plans to demonstrate at the North American Auto Show and at the Delphi world headquarters--on the aptly named Crooks Road in Troy, Mich.

A leaflet by the Job is a Right Campaign gave additional ideas for consideration, including demonstrating at the bankruptcy court in New York, having the UAW call a special emergency convention, and holding a general strike in the entire auto industry.
                                                                                
While the meeting was taking place in Flint, 1,000 Delphi workers and allies rallied in Kokomo, Ind., where Delphi is one of the largest private employers.

The fight is taking on many forms, but it is clearly on and is not likely to die down soon.