UAW members go on strike at Michigan auto parts plant
Members of the United Auto Workers union walked off the job at the American Axle plant in Three Rivers, Mich., on Monday after failing to reach a contract agreement.
UAW President Shawn Fain joined members of UAW Local 2093 on Sunday to announce nearly 1,000 members would go on strike at midnight due to Detroit-based American Axel “failing to offer a fair contract before the expiration deadline.”
“No contract, no axles,” the union said in a statement posted online.
“In 2008, workers at American Axle took 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. Today, 18 years later, workers are still yet to make up all that lost ground, with wages at American Axle currently topping out at $22 an hour after a five-year progression, with inflation-adjusted wages cut in half from their pre-2008 levels,” UAW said.
American Axle is a Tier 1 parts supplier for General Motors and produces parts for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Members of Local 2093 voted in May to authorize the strike upon the May 31 expiration of their contracts. The strike officially began at 12:01 a.m., and picketing began at 6 a.m.
The union said American Axle has taken in $8.4 billion in profits during the past decade, with its CEO being paid $111 million over the course of that same time period. The top five executives received nearly $231 million in compensation, UAW said.
Fain directly addressed company executives in a Sunday livestream video.
“For 18 years, these members have built you an empire of profit while getting treated like dirt,” he said. “They’ve taken wage cuts, benefit cuts, they’ve poured their souls into this plant, they missed birthdays, graduations, time with their families, to provide this company with axles, to keep this company and several auto assembly plants running.”
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