[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5451]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 DELPHI

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise on behalf of both current and 
retired Delphi workers in my district and around our Nation who are 
suffering from the financial woes of the largest automotive parts 
manufacturer in the country. Unfortunately, these Delphi workers are 
but the latest victims in a series of tragedies for the American 
worker. What we are currently witnessing, the bankruptcy and subsequent 
reorganization of Delphi is the fallout from regrettable trade 
agreements like NAFTA, and CAFTA, and the accompanying influence of 
some elected officials who are for globalized big business at the 
expense of the American people, big business built on low wages, no 
benefits, and no worker safety.
  Job loss is also due to major auto firms' leadership and executive 
boards who failed to make fuel efficient vehicles that Americans and 
the world want to buy. So our workers suffer.
  Delphi's most recent proposal is to lower wages from $27 an hour to 
$22 an hour through 2007, and then to $16.50 thereafter. This would be 
a 40 percent cut in middle-class wages.
  On Friday, Delphi filed a motion in bankruptcy court asking a judge 
to void its labor contracts. But how can you ask American workers to 
compete with a country like Japan which keeps its markets closed, the 
second largest market in the world? How can you ask our workers to 
compete with poverty level wages in Mexico and China? And how can you 
ask our workers to compete when big firms outsource everything to avoid 
paying workers what they justly deserve?
  Late last year, Congressman George Miller, ranking member of the 
Education and Workforce Committee, took the initiative to hold hearings 
on this subject.
  I want to make sure this evening that many of the workers' voices 
from my district are heard, like Mary Pat Bishoff of Marblehead, who 
said, ``My husband is 49 and has 32 years in at Delphi. He got sick and 
has been off since October. With only 5 years left on our first 
mortgage and 8 years on the second, we had to refinance and take them 
up to 30 years just to survive. This will force us to pay $733.11 a 
month instead of the $152.11 we were paying. We are faced with a 
decision as so many others are, should he retire and risk losing his 
pension? Or, if he stays and they cut pay, that means sick pay will 
also go down and we will lose our home.'' What kind of a choice is 
that?
  David Saylor of Port Clinton said, ``I retired from the GM assembly 
plant at Lordstown, Ohio in December of 1987, with the promise I would 
have complete health care coverage for life. Well, I will now have to 
pay $21 monthly, and that will greatly impact me since I took an early 
retirement and do not have the full 30-year retirement benefit.''
  Raymond Stahl of Vermillion, Ohio said, ``They are shutting down the 
plant I work at and are moving it. Now I am out of a good paying job, 
and at my age it is going to be hard to even get another job let alone 
one that pays so well. America comes first, not overseas.''
  Andrew Briscar, another Ohioan, said, ``I worked very hard for 20 
years at the Delphi Packard Electric to get to a point where I can make 
a comfortable living for myself and my son. Now Delphi Packard Electric 
wants to cut my pay and benefits to a level that a young man or woman 
might make just coming out of high school.''
  Mr. Speaker, workers who dedicate years of service to a company 
should be able to count on a decent retirement and measure of economic 
security. This Congress must step up with meaningful pension reform to 
help secure pensions and encourage companies to continue providing 
them.
  The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation should have been reinfused 
with funds long ago with its $23 billion deficit, and we ought to be 
renegotiating trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA that continue to 
cash out good American jobs. Opponents said these jobs would go south, 
and they surely have, with GM now being Mexico's being largest 
employer. And it is no surprise that companies like Delphi, GM's 
biggest supplier, are following them.
  I have spoken with Delphi management, and our delegation is doing 
everything possible to keep these Delphi jobs in America, but we need a 
majority of Members here dedicated to that purpose. I have invited 
Chairman Steve Miller of Delphi to tour the Sandusky Delphi facility 
and to meet with key employees and public officials, and he has yet to 
take me up on that offer.
  Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the Members to sign on to the 
Balancing Trade Act of 2005 which I have introduced to ask our trade 
ambassador to come back to us with recommendations to write all of 
these trade deficits that we are incurring with other trading countries 
around the world. America simply must put ourselves back in a positive 
trade balance status.

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