Nearly 1,000 United Auto Workers members pledged to go on strike at American Axle, a key General Motors supplier, after the union and the company failed to reach a deal before the existing contract’s deadline at midnight on Sunday, May 31.
UAW President Shawn Fain declared the strike in a social media livestream at 10 pm, two hours before the deadline, while flanked by members of the Three Rivers American Axle plant — the company’s largest manufacturing plant in the state of Michigan.
“So UAW family, as of midnight tonight, UAW Local 2093 will be on strike at American Axle,” Fain said at the podium. “I want to be clear about this: If there are changes or updates, we will communicate directly.”
Fain and his team have often used social media to give updates during strikes and negotiations — something the UAW did often during 2023’s so-called stand-up strikes against Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Motor Co.
Workers at American Axle (also known now as the Dauch Corporation) in Three Rivers, according to the UAW’s Region 1D Director Steve Dawes, make axles for the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado — GM’s half-ton pickup trucks. The Sierra and Silverado are assembled in Flint using American Axle-produced parts.
“No contract, no axles,” Fain said.
What is at issue in Three Rivers?
The UAW members of Local 2093 are primarily disputing wages at the facility, which were slashed in half 18 years ago.
During 2008’s Great Recession, with American Axle on the brink of closing, workers took the massive pay cuts to keep the facility open, the UAW said.
Josh Jager, Local 2093 bargaining chair, said that he was among the workers who, in 2008, went from making $29 an hour to $14.50.
“We did it to save the company, we did more than save them — we made them billions of dollars,” Jager said of the pay cuts. “So tonight, it’s about getting our fair share.”
Both Fain’s office and the UAW’s Department of Bargaining Strategies assisted with the negotiations, but were unable to come to an agreement with the company.
The union alleges that pay has not risen to meet the employees’ needs since the pay cut in 2008, and they are bargaining for a contract that finally rectifies the stark disparity in pay between current rates and pre-recession rates. Over the last three weeks, the UAW has consistently accused American Axle of failing to bring a good deal to the table.
Back in 2008, employees made $29 an hour. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ online inflation calculator, that amount equates to roughly $44 an hour in 2026. But the current highest wage at American Axle among union members, the union said, is $22 an hour.
The union said that in 18 years since the pay cut, American Axle has returned to profitability. Fain said that the company has made “an empire of profit” to the tune of $8.4 billion over the last decade. Now, the members want a bigger cut.
“Auto parts workers everywhere are fighting for their fair share,” Fain said. “They’re not asking to be millionaires, they’re asking for dignity.”
Officials at American Axle did not immediately respond to a Detroit Free Press request for comment.
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW declares midnight strike at American Axle, a key GM supplier
Reporting by Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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