UAW, IUE close ranks at Delphi Packard

The International Union of Electrical Workers, those docile folks who willingly agree Packard to let GM hire new members its eight IUE plants for 55% of the $17.78-an-hour base wage, are saying enough's enough. Members of IUE Local 717 in Warren, OH, authorize a strike if their leaders can't resolve a dispute with Delphi Packard, which wants to shift 1,800 jobs in Ohio to Mexico. Most significantly, the issue draws the UAW and IUE, once bitter arrivals, closer together. Because the Delphi Packard components go into most GM vehicles, a strike in Warren could quickly paralyze GM's North American operations much the way the UAW's 17-day Dayton walkout did in March. The UAW opens national bargaining with Ford on June 10, with Chrysler June 11 and with GM June 12. IUE talks open June 17. Both unions' current national agreements expire at midnight Sept. 14.