UAW Local 2093 members at American Axle/Dauch Corporation yesterday voted 80% in favor of ratifying a new contract with the parts supplier. The deal secures the workers’ demand of $30 per hour by 2030 – a more than 36% increase to the top wage rate over four years – among other major contract gains at the Tier 1 parts supplier to GM. Workers returned to work at 6:00 A.M. this Monday morning.*
“UAW Local 2093 showed one thing to be truer than ever: strikes work,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “And American Axle proved something else to be as true as we’ve always known: the industry can afford our demands. From the time we walked off ten days ago to this tentative agreement, the company more than doubled the money on the table. Labor is our power and we can’t sell ourselves short in this economic crisis we’re facing.”
In 2008, workers at American Axle made major sacrifices to save the facility from closure during the Great Recession. Many long-time workers who were making as much as $29 an hour in 2008 saw their wages slashed to $14.50.
“When we began this journey, we didn’t know where it would lead, but we knew we had to square shit up,” said UAW Local 2093 bargaining chair Josh Jager. “We had our marching orders from the membership, and our rallying cry: $30 by ‘30. This contract delivers on that rallying cry.”
Beyond wage increases, workers also achieved gains in other core demands with more paid days off and without any concessions on their current health care costs, something the company insisted at the table couldn’t be done, the UAW said.
“Not only did they take care of the legacy people that were here and made the tough decisions back in 2008 to keep the place open, they took care of the people working there today,” said UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes. “They also took care of all the future generations that will come to work here in Three Rivers, Michigan, at American Axle.”
Over the ten-day strike, UAW Local 2093 members attracted the interest and support of local community and political allies from across the state, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, State Senator Sean McCann, Three Rivers Mayor Angel Johnston, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for Michigan Attorney General Eli Savit, among others.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
UAW Local 2093 Members Ratify New American Axle Contract
UAW Local 2093 members at American Axle/Dauch Corporation yesterday voted 80% in favor of ratifying a new contract with the parts supplier. The deal secures the workers’ demand of $30 per hour by 2030 – a more than 36% increase to the top wage rate over four years – among other major contract gains at the Tier 1 parts supplier to GM. Workers returned to work at 6:00 A.M. this Monday morning.*
“UAW Local 2093 showed one thing to be truer than ever: strikes work,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “And American Axle proved something else to be as true as we’ve always known: the industry can afford our demands. From the time we walked off ten days ago to this tentative agreement, the company more than doubled the money on the table. Labor is our power and we can’t sell ourselves short in this economic crisis we’re facing.”
In 2008, workers at American Axle made major sacrifices to save the facility from closure during the Great Recession. Many long-time workers who were making as much as $29 an hour in 2008 saw their wages slashed to $14.50.
“When we began this journey, we didn’t know where it would lead, but we knew we had to square shit up,” said UAW Local 2093 bargaining chair Josh Jager. “We had our marching orders from the membership, and our rallying cry: $30 by ‘30. This contract delivers on that rallying cry.”
Beyond wage increases, workers also achieved gains in other core demands with more paid days off and without any concessions on their current health care costs, something the company insisted at the table couldn’t be done, the UAW said.
“Not only did they take care of the legacy people that were here and made the tough decisions back in 2008 to keep the place open, they took care of the people working there today,” said UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes. “They also took care of all the future generations that will come to work here in Three Rivers, Michigan, at American Axle.”
Over the ten-day strike, UAW Local 2093 members attracted the interest and support of local community and political allies from across the state, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, State Senator Sean McCann, Three Rivers Mayor Angel Johnston, U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for Michigan Attorney General Eli Savit, among others.
*AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.