General Motors is asking a New York bankruptcy judge to adjourn hearings as long as two months to give the company and its largest supplier, the Delphi Corporation, more time to negotiate a union agreement and avoid a strike.þþThe request, made yesterday, seeks to adjourn hearings scheduled to resume today on Delphi's request to void labor contracts and force union workers to accept pay concessions, a G.M. spokesman, Jerry Dubrowski, said. þþThe automaker wants additional time to reach a consensual agreement because the United Automobile Workers union has threatened to strike if the judge gives Delphi permission to void contracts.þþGeorge Anthony, president of U.A.W. Local 292 at a Delphi electrical components plant in Kokomo, Ind., said the request ÿtells me the U.A.W. is making some progress in reaching an agreement with Delphi, and that G.M. is finally coming to the table.ÿþþG.M. is trying to help Delphi reach an accord with its labor unions to cut wages and close most of its American plants without a protracted strike. þþAnalysts like Brian Johnson at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company have said a walkout at Delphi would lead to a bankruptcy filing by G.M. within four months.þþJudge Robert D. Drain of Federal Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan had scheduled hearings for today and Friday.þþA Delphi spokesman, Lindsey Williams, was not immediately available for comment. þþA spokesman for the union, Paul Krell, declined to comment because he had not seen the request.þþ
Source: NY Times
