Today, with negotiations starting later this month, UAW Local 2093 members at American Axle & Manufacturing (on 23 January 2026 the Company changed its name to Dauch Corporation NYSE: DCH – AutoCrat) released a video laying out demands ahead of their contract expiration on 31 May 2026.

“In 2008, workers at American Axle took major concessions to save the facility from closure during the Great Recession. Workers are still making up lost ground from the past 18 years. ‘I took a $14 an hour pay cut,’ said American Axle worker Jason Buchanan in a UAW video. “Many long-time workers who were making as much as $29 an hour in 2008 saw their wages cut to $14.50. Today, wages at American Axle currently top out at $22 an hour, after a five-year progression, with inflation-adjusted wages cut in half from their pre-2008 levels.

“As a Tier 1 parts supplier to General Motors, American Axle has generated $2.9 billion in profits since 2022. Over that time, the company’s CEO has been paid $47.9 million, with the top five executives receiving nearly $100 million in compensation. Meanwhile, UAW members working at the Three Rivers plant struggle to afford basic needs, with some even forced to sleep in their cars, the UAW said.

“In 2026, it’s time to make things right at American Axle,” workers said. “We did what we had to do to save the company. Now it’s time for the company to do what they have to do.”

“Influenced by the success of the UAW’s 2023 Stand Up Strike at Ford, GM, and Stellantis, American Axle workers are ready to make up for nearly two decades of lost wages and benefits. Members’ demands include: no concessions, fairer wages and profit sharing, better health care, stronger retirement, and job security,” the UAW said in a release.