Dana Holding Corp., a Tier One automotive supplier, reports it has reached three-year labor agreements with the United Auto Workers and United Steel Workers unions, which represent approximately 4,000 workers at 21 Dana plants. The new contracts, which take effect June 1, are the result of three-way negotiations that began in late January.
Dana manufactures axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and power technologies (sealing and thermal-management products, as well as service parts for automakers, truck builders, and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers. Its customers include nearly every major vehicle manufacturer in the global automotive, commercial vehicle, and off-highway markets.
The company did not release terms of the deals, but a USW source said the unions achieved “strong language protecting our work from leaving our … represented facilities,” made “significant progress” in equalizing the wage rates among unionized plants, and “greatly reduced” wage disparity in second wage tiers.
"We came into these negotiations with some basic goals," said Jim Robinson, chairman of the USW's Negotiating Committee. "In addition to the wage accomplishment, we were focused on maintaining the current healthcare plan design and lowering employee premiums for healthcare. This agreement achieves both of those healthcare goals.”
Robinson also said the new contracts establish a profit-sharing plan that rewards union members for their “sacrifices” that helped Dana to emerge from bankruptcy in January 2008.
In addition, Dana agreed to make additional contributions to the Steelworkers Pension Trust, to offer more holidays, and to contribute to a sub-account within the 401(K) plan that will provide funds to USW retirees to pay for health insurance.
The UAW provided no information on the new contracts.
"We appreciate the unions' commitment to Dana's long-term success," stated Mark Wallace, president of the company’s Heavy Vehicle Products Group. "Dana's transformation over the past few years has been driven by our people and accomplished in sync with our UAW- and USW-represented employees. As implementation of our lean production system … progresses to the next phase, the ideas and engagement of our production teams becomes even more critical to delivering the results our customers and shareholders expect."
Dana manufactures axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and power technologies (sealing and thermal-management products, as well as service parts for automakers, truck builders, and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers. Its customers include nearly every major vehicle manufacturer in the global automotive, commercial vehicle, and off-highway markets.
