---

UAW Strikes at Delphi East in Flint, Michigan

12 June 1998

UAW Strikes at Delphi East in Flint, Michigan

    FLINT, Mich., June 11 -- UAW Local 651 members at the Delphi
East plant in Flint, Michigan went on strike at 7 p.m. this evening over
unresolved health and safety, subcontracting and production standards issues.
    "UAW Local 651 members are being threatened with job losses due to
subcontracting to vendors, speeded up conditions and over-loaded jobs that are
clearly violations of the local and national agreements just signed in 1996,"
stated UAW Vice President Richard Shoemaker.
    UAW Region 1C Director Ruben Burks identified some of the unresolved
health and safety violations that led to the strike.
    "Workers at GM's Delphi East plant have to contend with excessive and
damaging noise levels and lack of ventilation in welding areas," said Burks,
who continued, "In addition the corporation has failed to address improperly
ergonomically designed jobs, and violations of equipment lockout procedures
that could lead to injury or death," Burks continued.
    "Clearly, we are not happy that GM has allowed these local issues to
continue unresolved so we must strike to force resolution," Shoemaker stated.
    "The situation at Delphi East is made worse by the presence of hundreds of
unresolved grievances, as well as the threatened sale of parts of the plant
and exiting other parts of the business," Shoemaker stated.
    "I remind you, if GM has their way Flint could lose about 11,000 jobs in
the next two years -- a devastating blow to this community," Shoemaker said.
    "The issues here in Flint underscore the point that in GM's 'America Last'
strategy, communities like Flint and elsewhere stand to loose out as GM
downsizes to take advantage of poverty-level wages in other countries,"
Shoemaker declared.
    "These issues concern our union as they should all clear-thinking
Americans," Shoemaker said.
    "Our immediate concern," he noted, "is resolving the strikes at Local 659
and Local 651 on the basis of the unresolved local union issues.  And we are
striving diligently to reach a conclusion as soon as possible," Shoemaker
concluded.