UAW Hourly Employees Strike at Auto Supplier American Axle Plants in Michigan, New York

DETROIT February 26, 2004; David Runk writing for the AP reported that United Auto Workers members at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. plants in Michigan and New York went on strike Thursday after a four-year contract covering about 6,500 hourly workers expired and disagreements with the auto supplier about job security issues stalled labor talks.

The walkout forced General Motors Corp., American Axle's biggest customer, to tell about 3,000 workers at its truck plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., that it expects to halt production there until further notice. And DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group, which relies on American Axle for some of its parts, said production could be affected next week if the strike isn't resolved swiftly.

The previous contract expired at 11:59 p.m. EST Wednesday without an agreement. With workers on the picket lines, talks continued Thursday. In Detroit, police said five workers were arrested for disorderly conduct as union members carried signs and chanted: "No contract, no work!"

Wendy Thompson, president of UAW Local 235, which represents workers at American Axle's Detroit Axle and Detroit Forge plants, said workers didn't think that the talks would lead to a strike.

"We are very disappointed. You have a corporation that has made a lot of money," Thompson said. "They have publicly said that they owe a lot to their union work force. ... Now they're saying we can't share in that."

Talks stalled on contract language over plant closings, which American Axle wanted to change to allow it to shutter its facilities at will, Thompson said, as well as disagreement about how much money the company should contribute to a supplemental fund for unemployed or laid-off workers.

American Axle officials declined to discuss sticking points in the contract talks. Spokeswoman Renee Rogers said it wasn't clear how the company's operations would be affected. The strike includes workers at plants in Detroit and Three Rivers; and Buffalo, Tonawanda and Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Mark Theodore, a Los Angeles labor lawyer and partner in the firm Proskauer and Rose, said contract language on plant closings and funding for supplemental unemployment benefits are two key job security issues.

"In the auto parts industries, these plant closing issues are always an important part of the bargaining process," Theodore said. "The central theme is job security and the UAW has one of the richest benefits for that."

American Axle said about 1,000 UAW workers at the company's plants in Ohio and MSP Industries facilities weren't affected by the strike, since they are covered under different contracts.

In regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange, American Axle shares fell 30 cents to close at $37.71, while GM shares were down 13 cents at $47.78.

Chrysler spokesman David Elshoff said American Axle makes parts for the automaker's Dodge Durango and Dodge Ram as well as the Jeep Wrangler. None of the company's plants were expected to be affected by the strike this week, but he said production could be affected next week if the strike continues.

Ford Motor Co. said its production wasn't affected by the strike.

Spun off from GM in 1994, American Axle builds axles, gears, drivelines and related products. For 2003, the supplier posted record revenues of $3.7 billion as sales to GM represented nearly 82 percent of American Axle's sales.

The company supplies GM with parts for many of its vehicles, including the Hummer H2, the GMC Envoy and the GMC Canyon. GM spokesman Tom Wickham said production at the Fort Wayne plant, which makes the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado, was expected to stop after Thursday's second shift.

"Beyond that, we're still not speculating on whether other production will be affected," said Wickham, who noted that world's No. 1 automaker hoped for a quick resolution to the walkout.

American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.: http://www.aam.com