Negotiations between local union leaders and Delphi PackardElectric Systems officials will resume today in Detroit, accordingto a union representative.

Talks between the International Union of Electronic, Electrical,Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers – Communications Workers ofAmerican (IUE-CWA) and Delphi were placed on hold last week afterthe death of influential leader Henry “Hank” Reichard, said HenryNewman, a Brookhaven IUE-CWA representative.

Reichard, 55, died of an apparent heart-related condition at hishome in Warren County, Ohio, June 5. As chairman of the union’sautomotive conference board, he had led negotiations with Delphifor more than a year.

IUE-CWA is the second-largest union at Delphi, representing8,500 workers and 3,000 retirees. The Brookhaven plant employs morethan 500 workers.

“We haven’t been doing anything. We’re going back this week toresume talks,” Newman said. “The first thing we’ll have to do as aboard is elect a new chairman. He was the lead negotiator.”

Richard would be a hard man to replace, he said.

“Hank cared about the little plants like ours,” Newman said. “Hefought to keep them open. He was a good friend to our plant.”

Delphi is in the midst of reorganization and restructuring inits bid to avoid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The corporation has saidit will sell or close 21 of its 29 U.S. plants in thereorganization.

Plants in Brookhaven and Clinton have been listed as two of theeight “core automotive facilities” that will remain open. A thirdMississippi plant, in Laurel, did not make the list.

The Brookhaven plant is one of the most productive in the Delphiinventory, Newman said.

After electing a new chairman, IUE-CWA leaders may have toconsider whether to accept a supplement to the Special AttritionProgram Agreement, which was negotiated in March.

Friday, Delphi and representatives of the United Auto Workers,the largest union involved in the reorganization, agreed on asupplement that provides additional buy out and pre-retirementoptions. Those options include:

* Employees with 10 or more years of seniority or creditedservice are eligible for $140,000;

* Traditional employees with less than 10 years seniority areeligible for $70,000; and

* Employees hired under the Supplemental New Hire Agreementprior to March 22 are eligible for a buy out payment prorated to$40,000.

Newman did not know whether IUE-CWA would also agree to thesupplement or even if it had been offered to the union.

“We haven’t been at the talks, so I can’t say,” he said.

Newman and Zeb Wells, president of the local IUE-CWA chapter,are returning to Detroit today to resume negotiations.