UAW Local 2093 members at Dauch Corp. (formerly American Axle) voted to ratify a new contract following a 10-day strike of nearly 1,000 workers at the company’s Three Rivers, Michigan, plant. The four-year agreement secures top wages of $30 per hour by 2030 and more paid days off.
The union says wages at the plant were slashed during the Great Recession from as much as $29 an hour to $14.50 an hour in order to keep the facility open. Pay still hadn’t recovered to pre-recession levels 18 years later, according to the UAW, prompting the members to vote 98% in favor of authorizing strike action.
After 10 days on strike, UAW members and Dauch reached a tentative agreement. Union members voted 80% in favor of ratifying the new contract, and workers returned to their jobs on June 15.
The strike sparked concerns about production at General Motors because Dauch supplies products used in several of the automaker’s pickup trucks.
Bio:Anna Smith joined IndustryWeek in 2021. She handles breaking news of interest to the manufacturing industry and the cross-publication newsletter Quick Manufacturing News. Anna was previously an editorial assistant at New Equipment Digest, Material Handling & Logistics and other publications.
