The
UAW has won a battle to secure a seat on Delphi’s creditor committee, which will at least
give the union the ability to keep up to speed on what’s being discussed. The “ex-officio”
position, however, does not give the UAW any voting power. This makes the UAW the largest unsecured creditor on the
committee.
Oddly enough, the International Union of Electrical Workers already has a position on the committee
despite being a significantly smaller creditor than the UAW, and GM – which could be liable for billions of dollars
depending on how all of this plays out – doesn’t even have the ability to listen in on the proceedings (if I were the
General, I’d be screaming at the court right about now).
The importance of all this will quickly become clear
if the committee proceeds with a court filing next month to void Delphi’s labor contracts, as the UAW will now be able
to hit the ground running.