As February closes, the ongoing saga of the Delphi Bankruptcy continues to play out in the courtroom, at the bargaining table and in the press. On December 18, 2006 it was announced that Delphi had reached a deal to restructure through the transfer of assets to Appaloosa Management LP, Cerberus Capital Management LP and Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I — along with Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS Securities LLC . Reports state the group is willing to invest several billion dollars in Delphi. This deal was approved by the bankruptcy court in early January, provided a deal was reached between the investors, Delphi and its unions. The first announcement stated that Cerberus wanted a new labor agreement by January 31, 2007 or they would have the option to back out of the deal. That deadline was extended to February 28, 2007. At this writing, no agreement has been reached.

On February 01, 2007 UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and UAW Vice-President Cal Rapson released the following statement:

“For several months, the Union has been engaged in discussions with Delphi and potential investors concerning resolution of our outstanding labor issues. Unfortunately, neither the company nor the potential investors has demonstrated a willingness to resolve the substantial issues which divide us. While the UAW desires to work with the company and its potential investors in order to allow Delphi to emerge from bankruptcy, we will not negotiate any agreements on a company imposed timeline. These deadlines were determined without any input from the Union, and the UAW will be guided only by our desire to advocate for the best interests of our members, retirees and their communities.”

On February 21, 2007 Delphi announced it had reached a nonbinding agreement to sell the Interior business to the New York-based The Renco Group pending approval of the bankruptcy court.
On January 31, 2007 Delphi announced they were in talks to sell the steering business to Platinum Equity, an acquisitions and merger company who specializes in including information technology, telecommunications, logistics, manufacturing and entertainment distribution. This sale includes the entire global steering business, including the plants in Athens. According to Platinum Equity’s corporate profile they own 65 separate businesses with an annual income of $15 billion. In a release by Delphi Platinum President Phil Norment was quoted as saying “We believe that Platinum’s solutions-based approach to transition and operations is well-suited to establishing Delphi Steering as a successful stand-alone company.”

At this time we have no details as to how any of these possible scenarios may play out. The International Union has consistently stated that our membership will be heard. Delphi plans on keeping about four UAW plants and either selling or closing the rest. With contract negotiations beginning this summer nation wide, it is unclear when the issue will be resolved. The UAW has maintained the position from the beginning that we have a contract and would not negotiate a new one on a company imposed timetable. As soon as a resolution to this issue is settled, it will be passed along to our members.