Management and unions involved in large, high-profile bankruptcies are finally returning to the negotiation table.
Although negotiaitions between bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi and the United Auto Workers started poorly, the two are sitting across from each other reportedly holding productive talks with the help of big brother General Motors.
"And now that there are three of us at the table, we will get something done," Delphi chief Robert Miller said at the Automotive News World Congress.
With labor at the table, Miller is certain he will not have to deliver on last year's threats to seek a court order to void Delphi's labor contracts; instead he expects the two reach a consensual deal on wages and benefits for the company's 33,000 U.S. hourly workers.
Meanwhile, a federal bankruptcy judge Tuesday granted a request by the union representing 14,000 machinists at Northwest Airlines for time to vote on a contract that could save the airline $190.4 million a year.
The International Association of Machinists reached the deal with the No. 4 U.S. airline last week, removing the union from a courtroom battle starting Tuesday in which Northwest seeks to void the labor contracts of pilots and flight attendants. Ironically, a strike by the machinists helped send the the airline into bankruptcy late last year.—Matthew Wurtzel
See story about Delphi from the Detroit News
See story about Delphi from the Detroit Free Press
See story about Northwest from The Street
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