Published: June 03, 2006 05:28 pm            

Delphi starts hiring process

Fifty temporary employees will be in place by June 12.

Faces will soon change at Kokomo’s Electronic & Safety Division plants of Delphi Corp.

Given the go-ahead to hire 100 temporary employees, Delphi began the interview process at the end of May and drug testing will be completed in time for the first 50 people to begin work June 12, George Anthony, shop chairman of United Auto Workers Local 292, said Thursday.

By the time the attrition program runs its course and employees leave the company, Anthony says about 800 people will be hired off the street as temporary employees, who will eventually become permanent employees.

As of the middle of the week, 21,000 employees of General Motors Corp. had agreed to take the buyouts while the number of those from Delphi taking one of three attrition program was nearly 8,000 — and 814, or a shade more than 10 percent of those, were from Kokomo’s facilities.

“We have 1,250 eligible, and I’m sure as we get closer to June 23, we’ll have an influx of people apply,” Anthony said. “I’m guessing we’ll get to at least 1,100.”

There is a requisition with the National Placement Center for 66 skilled tradesmen. Ten apprentices will begin work June 12 and another 10 will start July 10.

Those hired will be covered by the supplemental agreement of 2003 which sets a two-tier wage scale.

“Their wages will match that. They’ll be hired in at $14 per hour and can go up to $18 per hour,” Anthony said.

They will receive shift and overtime premiums, will pay union dues of two hours per month and “like the normal person, the union will have representation of them after 30 calendar days,” the shop chairman said. “That’s when we can bring them into the union.”

The union will represent them after 30 days, but after 90 days is when employees are supposed to begin establishing seniority.

“I don’t know if they will gain seniority as a temporary employee. That’s partially why I have been against bring temporary people in,” Anthony said. “I’ve argued long and hard against it because of that, but they have done it at every Delphi plant.

“Finally, the international overruled me and allowed temporaries to be hired here in Kokomo. The reason they did it was so there are people coming in and they can let others go out on the attrition package.”

Another reason he was against temporary hires is because they won’t have health coverage until they become permanent employees.

“Of course, one of the big arguments through the bankruptcy is health care coverage,” he noted.

Anthony has also spent time squelching rumors within the plant that those being hired will be used as strikebreakers.

“These people aren’t going to come in to be strikebreakers because they want to make sure they get hired on permanently,” he said. “I’m sure they will be union minded. There are rumors in the plant that people are being asked if they would be strikebreakers.

“They are not doing anything like that. These are strictly business interviews to find out abilities, what kind of training people have and if they are familiar with industrial work.”

If the union official’s estimate holds true, that would account for half of 292’s membership of 2,200. The other 1,100 hourly employees are eligible to flow back to General Motors and the shop chairman is guessing close to 500 will do that.

Some time in mid to late June, he said, General Motors will take 300 people on board at the Fort Wayne Truck Assembly Plant. That will be done nationwide by seniority.

Anthony already knows six members of 292 are going to work at the Wentzville Assembly plant in Missouri while at least three will head to Louisiana to work at the Shreveport Operations facility.

“A lot of those who have signed up will go to Allison Transmission in Indianapolis. There and Fort Wayne are probably the places people from Kokomo and Anderson will try to flow back to because close to this vicinity,” Anthony said.

John Dempsey may be contacted at (765) 854-6739 or by e-mail at john.dempsey@kokomotribune.com

        

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