Negotiators for striking United Auto Workers members and automotive supplier Dauch Corp. remain at odds in contract talks, the union said Friday.
“Welcome to another day of bargaining with a company that doesn’t listen for s***,” said Josh Jager, bargaining chair for UAW Local 2093, in a video posted to social media.
He added: “We will continue to hold the line until this company comes to their senses and brings back the contract that this membership has been owed for a long time. In the meantime, hold the line.”
Roughly 1,000 UAW-represented workers for Dauch, formerly known as American Axle, have been on strike from the company’s Three Rivers plant since early Monday. The union has maintained demands throughout the week for raising wages at the plant to $30 an hour by 2030, maintaining current health benefit costs and improving work-life balance protections.
Dauch’s latest offer, according to the UAW, proposed a top rate of $26 per hour by 2030 and did not meet union demands on healthcare and vacation. That is a slight increase over an offer of $25.75 mentioned by Jager earlier in the week.
“The work stoppage at Three Rivers is disappointing,” said Dauch spokesperson Chris Son in a statement. “But we believe that the best outcome for everyone — our Associates, the union, and the Company — is reached at the bargaining table. We remain committed to negotiating with the union in good faith and hope to promptly reach a fair agreement.”
The Three Rivers plant supplies driveline parts for several types of General Motors Co. pickups, as well as some parts that go into the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and to a different auto supplier.
The plant is Dauch’s largest unionized driveline facility with revenues of $20 million to $25 million per week, and there isn’t an alternative site for which to supply parts GM needs, especially for its heavy-duty pickups, according to Chris May, the company’s chief financial officer.
“Currently, our workforce at our Three Rivers facility is out on work stoppage,” May said Wednesday during the UBS Auto and Auto Tech Conference.
“But it’s a very active negotiation at this point in time, so there’s not a lot I can say, and of course, our goal, along with their goal, is to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that both parties can be successful on a go-forward basis,” he added.
Dauch recently made a $1.44 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of competitor Dowlais plc. That transaction, the UAW has said, is a marker that the company needs to raise wages and improve compensation of its workers.
Union officials and workers believe Dauch has an approximately two-week stockpile of axles it can tap to supply GM while the plant’s production is reduced because of the strike.
As the strike has gone on, the union effort has attracted visits from prominent Democratic politicians, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Whitmer visited the picket line on Thursday to meet with workers, writing on social media: “Prices are on the rise all around us. Michiganders deserve good wages to pay bills and keep food on the table. Today, UAW workers are on strike bargaining for better pay and stronger benefits. I will always stand with the hardworking men and women of the UAW.”
El-Sayed visited Friday after picking up an endorsement from the UAW in his high-profile primary contest against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak.
“Michigan union autoworkers built the American middle class and proved that when people stand together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish,” he said in a social media post following the endorsement. “Solidarity forever.”
gschwab@detroitnews.com
lramseth@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: UAW, GM axle supplier Dauch remain stuck in negotiations amid strike
Reporting by Grant Schwab and Luke Ramseth, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Grant Schwab and Luke Ramseth, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
