Dauch Workers Endorse Four-Year Contract
United Auto Workers union members at Dauch Corp.’s Three Rivers, Mich., plant have ratified a new four-year contract, ending the walkout strike that started June 1. Approximately 1,000 workers ratified the agreement with an 80% majority, and resumed working at the plant on June 15.
According to various reports, the workers are set to gain a 30% wage increase over the contract’s four years, with top pay on a track to $30/hour by 2030.
The UAW had framed the strike as a long wage dispute, dating to concessions made to then-American Axle & Manufacturing during the 2008 financial crisis. “Many long-time workers who were making as much as $29 an hour in 2008 saw their wages slashed to $14.50,” the union stated on June 1.
Other points gained by the union include no healthcare premium increases during the four-year term, and additional paid holidays and time off provisions.
"This contract will change lives in Three Rivers and across southwest Michigan," stated Josh Jager, UAW Local 2093 bargaining chair. "I am damn proud of this agreement, and I am damn proud to be a member of UAW Local 2093."
According to a union statement, UAW members hired before May 31, 2012, will gain an immediate $8.hour increase on ratification.
Dauch’s Three Rivers plant is a critical General Motors supplier that manufactures front and rear axles for Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD trucks; mid-size truck axles for the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon; and universal joints, drive shafts, and related assembly components for light-duty trucks. The latter of those products are also supplied to Stellantis for some light-duty trucks.
“UAW Local 2093 showed one thing to be truer than ever: strikes work,” stated UAW president Shawn Fain. “And American Axle (sic) proved something else to be as true as we’ve always known: the industry can afford our demands. From the time we walked off ten days ago to this tentative agreement, the company more than doubled the money on the table. Labor is our power and we can’t sell ourselves short in this economic crisis we’re facing.”