WARREN - Auto parts workers at Warren-area Delphi Packard Electrical / Electronic Architecture plants ratified a labor contract that provides some pay and benefit increases for lower-level employees, the union said Monday.
International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 717 approved the pact by 66 percent on Saturday, local president Steven Mickel.
Members in the lowest tiers received modest pay increases in addition to the 3 percent pay increases for all members, Mickel said in a statement.
Level-three workers will get additional benefits not guaranteed in previous contracts, while 29 level-three employees were elevated to level two, he added.
The contract allows the plants, which make plastic, metal and other parts the company uses to build vehicle wiring harnesses, to be "competitive in the global environment with sustained viability in the area," Mickel said.
He said the union didn't get all it wanted but "laid the foundation which can be built upon that benefits our members, the company and the communities we affect."
Delphi released a statement saying, ''The team worked in collaboration to negotiate a competitive agreement to benefit employees and the company. The agreement positions Delphi to compete on a global scale and build on the 100 year tradition of delivering quality products and services from these operations."
The contract expires at 11:59 p.m. Oct. 12, 2015.
Mickel was one of a number of new union officials elected in November after members rejected a proposed contract for not providing enough gain for newer workers hired at lower wages and benefits.
The local represents almost 660 workers at the plants, which are part of United Kingdom-based Delphi Automotive PLC.