We received an irate e-mail from a reader accusing us of being "corporate tools" because we hadn't written enough about the workers' side of the Delphi debacle. In the interest of not appearing any more toolish than normal, we think that its tragic that many people (Delphi, we may remind you employs 185,000 workers worldwide) are in danger of losing their livelihoods. And it's a shame that much of it's due to corporate mismanagement. But it's also due to more competitive offerings from other manufacturers who aren't beholden to GM's legacy costs (and by extension, Delphi's).
And while we're hardly apologists for the sleazy tactics of Big Business and have little doubt that UAW head Ron Gettelfinger is correct in accusing Delphi's "Steve" Miller of using scare tactics to wrest concessions from the union we also think that if the healthcare situation in this country wasn't so out of control and if the union had been more willing to work with the automakers early on, people wouldn't be amputating their noses to save their faces at this point. If that makes us corporate tools, stamp "Craftsman" into our torsos and toss us into a rollaway toolbox.
Gettelfinger chides Delphi chief [The Detroit News]
Related:
Dephi as Bargaining Chip [Internal]