Stricker Brothers Retire
By Larry J. Rodarte © The Diaz Observer, June 2006
The recent turmoil surrounding Delphi Corp. is expediting the end of an era within La Familia Diaz. In an attempt to downsize, cull jobs and reduce labor, the company offered a broad employee buyout program earlier this month that moves the company a step closer to emerging from bankruptcy and reduces the risk of a strike that could cripple former parent and top customer, General Motors.
With the help of the world’s biggest automaker, the buyouts cover not only retirement-age workers, but also unionized hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers who have less time at Delphi.
Enter James Stricker, “Jimmy” to most of us, who took the buy-out this June retiring after 35 years. Our forever-pondering family member says there is something pretty significant at play here.
“Sometime around the mid 80’s, I was talking with one of my brothers and we counted around 40 relatives working at the plant,” said Jim, who started at Delphi when it was Saginaw Steering Gear in 1971. “There were Strickers, Medels, Orozcos, Delgados, and it wasn’t uncommon to run into them saying ‘Hey primo.’”
Today there are only a handful of family members — mostly girls like Dana Stricker, Hope Delgado and Benita Colmus working at the plant.
Taking the buyout was a “no-brainer” according to Jimmy. If a retiree sticks around their wages will be cut in half. It’s the state of the world economy and Jimmy says there is a lesson to be learned here for all the younger generation.
“I was really fortunate; my generation was so confidant in the security of our jobs that we sort of postponed retirement,” Jimmy said. “Many of us ended up working longer paying for the partying we did.”
A combination of the bankruptcy situation, political eruptions he didn’t want to deal with, and having grand kids is why Jimmy chose to finally retire.
“I won most of my battles so I figured I better get off the train. I have a lot of grand kids too and I was hardly seeing them. I didn’t want to miss that,”
Cousin Joe Stricker agrees, saying he bailed out for the same reasons.
“I was going to set the world on fire,” said Joe, who retired on May 1, after 40 years. “But my wife said ‘nope you have to take care of the grand kids.’”
Joe hired into the plant the day after he came home from serving in the Army in Fort Hood, Tex. Because GM was hiring so steadily in 1966, he was easily hired the day after he applied. In those days, Joe says, a high school diploma wasn’t even required. In it’s heyday, the Steering Gear Plant employed 7,500 workers; today there are approximately 4,000.
Of his long tenure at Delphi, Joe says he looked to his hero cousin Paul Orozco, who retired in 2000.
“Cousin Paul stayed in for over 46 years and he would always tell me, ‘Stay in as long as you want, don’t worry about what them other guys say,’” said Joe.
Cousin Bobby Stricker retired on January 1, 2006, having worked a little over 34 years. He too hired into the Steering Gear, in October of 1971 after serving in the military.
Of his retirement Bobby says, “It was just time for me to go. I got out before I even knew of the buyout. I was going regardless. It’s an end of an era.”
Between the three brothers they have over 110 years of seniority.
With age comes wisdom, and Jimmy feels that economists will look back at this time as “The Great Squeeze of the Middle Class.” He tries to explain.
“GM, Ford, Chrysler and Delphi are kind of like islands where we are making really good wages. (Hourly wages at Delphi are $27 an hour.) In the new world order where people are not making that kind of money, it couldn’t be tolerated anymore. The big bankers looking at the uneducated making that kind of money said ‘we don’t have to pay that anymore,’ said Jimmy, the last hold-out of the Stricker boys.
Today a Delphi blue-collar employee is hired in at $14 an hour and there is no retirement package. In today’s world an education is a must, and the Stricker brothers want all the younger generation to realize that “if you don’t get highly educated, you’re going to have a tough time.”
Changing diapers and preparing meals is a daily occurrence for Grandpa Jim, who like his brothers, is thankful for the good years working at Steering Gear, then Saginaw Division, and now Delphi Inc. has given each of them. Jimmy tries to put this “End of an Era” into perspective.
“For years and years, Grandpa Senobio worked hard all his life, even at the Grey Iron Foundry under terrible conditions. He probably told his sons, ‘You don’t know how bad I had it.’ Uncle Joe, Uncle Steve and the other uncles told my generation ‘You don’t know how bad we had it.’ And now this is the first generation where we are telling our kids, ‘You guys don’t know how GOOD we had it.’ The well educated and those who know how to talk for themselves and play the game right — they are the ones who will have it good.”
The moral of the story: Get an education — period! It is critical to your future and to our family’s future.
Happy retirement Joe, Bobby and Jimmy!
With the help of the world’s biggest automaker, the buyouts cover not only retirement-age workers, but also unionized hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers who have less time at Delphi.
Enter James Stricker, “Jimmy” to most of us, who took the buy-out this June retiring after 35 years. Our forever-pondering family member says there is something pretty significant at play here.
“Sometime around the mid 80’s, I was talking with one of my brothers and we counted around 40 relatives working at the plant,” said Jim, who started at Delphi when it was Saginaw Steering Gear in 1971. “There were Strickers, Medels, Orozcos, Delgados, and it wasn’t uncommon to run into them saying ‘Hey primo.’”
Today there are only a handful of family members — mostly girls like Dana Stricker, Hope Delgado and Benita Colmus working at the plant.
Taking the buyout was a “no-brainer” according to Jimmy. If a retiree sticks around their wages will be cut in half. It’s the state of the world economy and Jimmy says there is a lesson to be learned here for all the younger generation.
“I was really fortunate; my generation was so confidant in the security of our jobs that we sort of postponed retirement,” Jimmy said. “Many of us ended up working longer paying for the partying we did.”
A combination of the bankruptcy situation, political eruptions he didn’t want to deal with, and having grand kids is why Jimmy chose to finally retire.
“I won most of my battles so I figured I better get off the train. I have a lot of grand kids too and I was hardly seeing them. I didn’t want to miss that,”
Cousin Joe Stricker agrees, saying he bailed out for the same reasons.
“I was going to set the world on fire,” said Joe, who retired on May 1, after 40 years. “But my wife said ‘nope you have to take care of the grand kids.’”
Joe hired into the plant the day after he came home from serving in the Army in Fort Hood, Tex. Because GM was hiring so steadily in 1966, he was easily hired the day after he applied. In those days, Joe says, a high school diploma wasn’t even required. In it’s heyday, the Steering Gear Plant employed 7,500 workers; today there are approximately 4,000.
Of his long tenure at Delphi, Joe says he looked to his hero cousin Paul Orozco, who retired in 2000.
“Cousin Paul stayed in for over 46 years and he would always tell me, ‘Stay in as long as you want, don’t worry about what them other guys say,’” said Joe.
Cousin Bobby Stricker retired on January 1, 2006, having worked a little over 34 years. He too hired into the Steering Gear, in October of 1971 after serving in the military.
Of his retirement Bobby says, “It was just time for me to go. I got out before I even knew of the buyout. I was going regardless. It’s an end of an era.”
Between the three brothers they have over 110 years of seniority.
With age comes wisdom, and Jimmy feels that economists will look back at this time as “The Great Squeeze of the Middle Class.” He tries to explain.
“GM, Ford, Chrysler and Delphi are kind of like islands where we are making really good wages. (Hourly wages at Delphi are $27 an hour.) In the new world order where people are not making that kind of money, it couldn’t be tolerated anymore. The big bankers looking at the uneducated making that kind of money said ‘we don’t have to pay that anymore,’ said Jimmy, the last hold-out of the Stricker boys.
Today a Delphi blue-collar employee is hired in at $14 an hour and there is no retirement package. In today’s world an education is a must, and the Stricker brothers want all the younger generation to realize that “if you don’t get highly educated, you’re going to have a tough time.”
Changing diapers and preparing meals is a daily occurrence for Grandpa Jim, who like his brothers, is thankful for the good years working at Steering Gear, then Saginaw Division, and now Delphi Inc. has given each of them. Jimmy tries to put this “End of an Era” into perspective.
“For years and years, Grandpa Senobio worked hard all his life, even at the Grey Iron Foundry under terrible conditions. He probably told his sons, ‘You don’t know how bad I had it.’ Uncle Joe, Uncle Steve and the other uncles told my generation ‘You don’t know how bad we had it.’ And now this is the first generation where we are telling our kids, ‘You guys don’t know how GOOD we had it.’ The well educated and those who know how to talk for themselves and play the game right — they are the ones who will have it good.”
The moral of the story: Get an education — period! It is critical to your future and to our family’s future.
Happy retirement Joe, Bobby and Jimmy!
