February, 2006

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Delphi fight is everybody's fight

By the Flint, Mich. People's Tribune Correspondent

Editors Note: The pending bankruptcy by the Delphi Corporation has galvanized the labor movement.

The recent march and demonstration at Detroit's North American Auto Show was a solid success. With two AFSME local unions from the city of Detroit endorsing the march, workers from all over the country, throughout the auto industry, as well as in the community, rallied to the defense of the Delphi workers. Generating a considerable amount of press coverage, the participants made it clear they have no intention of letting others decide their future for them.

Just days before the Detroit event, the Oakland Business Review (of Oakland County in Michigan and home to Delphi Headquarters) named Delphi CEO Steve "Terminator" Miller as the executive of the year. To the manufacturing world, he is a "leader and trailblazer." He has the Chrysler Corporation bailout under his belt, along with Federal Mogul Corporation, Bethlehem Steel, and United Air Lines, Inc., (that recently came out of bankruptcy with 25,000 jobs gone, along with workers' pensions passed on to the government). The Business Review also said, "While views of Miller are mixed, few doubt that if his vision for Delphi is realized, American manufacturing will never be the same," and further, "the impact of the Delphi changes -- now and into the future -- will sweep across the automotive sector and manufacturing in general." These words and the reasons behind it speaks volumes as to why the Delphi fight is everybody's fight. The more forward-looking workers involved in the movement clearly understand this and are casting their nets far and wide to insure that the people understand that there is much more to this than the Delphi workers versus Delphi Corporation or even just union workers versus the company.

Another sign of the impact that the activist unionists are having is that the local media here is now viciously attacking us in Flint. There has been a lot of discussion (mostly rumors and innuendos) in recent weeks that a Toyota plant could come to Michigan. The local company newspaper, the Flint Journal, recently ran an editorial attacking the marches, claiming that such activism would jeopardize the chances of Toyota and other companies from locating in Flint! At the same time, Miller came to Flint recently where a meeting was held with him to discuss the future of Delphi in Flint and not ONE worker or UAW representative was present. This in itself is enough reason to continue to shed the light of day on the war that has been declared on us and the need to continue the fight in our own interest.