Pact Averts Strike at Auto-Parts Maker

Delphi Corp., the largest auto-parts maker, reached a tentative contract agreement with the union at an Ohio suspension-systems plant to avert a strike that had been set for tonight.

The company reached an agreement with the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 755, said Cheryl Kilborn, a Delphi spokeswoman.

The union represents about 2,000 workers at the Kettering, Ohio, factory. It had set a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. local time tonight if the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement, after the company received a letter on Sept. 23 warning of a work stoppage. A previous strike deadline of Sept. 16 passed without an agreement.

Union local Chairman Dave Heizer said at that time the union and Delphi were “so close that it was unreasonable to stop negotiating for a walkout.”

Heizer said the union’s “competitive hire” workers won “significant” pay raises in the new agreement and senior members are getting some raises and increases in benefits. He declined to elaborate.

He said the union was able to win the raises after coming to an agreement with Delphi on the sourcing of a “more profitable mix” of products at the Kettering factory.

The union also pledged to improve productivity through more flexible work rules, Heizer said.