AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

American Axle & Union Have Tentative Deal

American Axle and the UAW have completed a tentative contract. The UAW struck the company after American Axle demanded an almost 50% paycut from the production members. In the new contract, the workers will get more, but . a lot. Base pay for production workers will be $18.50, down from $28.00 per hour pre-strike. Nonproduction workers will start at $14.35, and skilled trade members will make $26.00. The Detroit News article reporting the settlement could be clearer on the details, but apparently the workers will receive a $90,000 one time buy down payment at least $90,000.

The American Axle strike had the potential to be disastrous to General Motors, but as luck would have it, the axles and suspension components made by AA mostly went into truck models that already were in excess supply. For other models affected by the strike, the General was able to secure enough parts from other suppliers (and presumably American Axle's non-US plants) for production to resume after brief interruptions.