Apr-08-2008

Amer Axle To Resume Full Talks With UAW Wednesday

(topic overview)
CONTENTS:

Consider the strike against Detroit -based American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, a first-tier supplier of drive systems and electronic components to General Motors and other car and truck manufacturers around the world. (More...)
The shutdowns caused by the American Axle dispute have actually helped the company to cut inventories. (More...)
The production version of the Chevrolet Volt will look a lot like the concept General Motors Corp. showed at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. (More...)
Arlington is one of five GM factories threatening to strike the automaker if local contracts aren't seen reached. (More...)
The resumption of talks came after a meeting Monday between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and company CEO Richard Dauch. (More...)
The meeting comes after the UAW's bargaining team gathered Friday and Saturday to discuss new information that the company provided during the last two weeks, in meetings that some had hoped would lead to renewed talks. (More...)
Striking worker Darrin Lewek, of UAW Local 235, holds out some hope. (More...)
While the company was profitable last year, it said the plants in question have not been profitable for years. (More...)
Amati said environmental and fuel-economy issues are now part of just about every discussion when it comes to designing or manufacturing vehicles or filling the supply chain that will be used to build and fuel the vehicles of the future. (More...)
The firm, which has offices in Radnor, Pa. and Menlo Park, Calif., invests in a wide range of clean technology companies. (More...)

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Consider the strike against Detroit -based American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, a first-tier supplier of drive systems and electronic components to General Motors and other car and truck manufacturers around the world. The strike against American Axle has been underway since Feb. 26, when a labor agreement between the company and the United Auto Workers union representing 3,650 of its workers expired. It has been a bitter dispute, one that has wiped out tens of thousands of units of production -- about 75,000 GM trucks, according to one industry estimate. The good thing is that the forced production cuts have come at a most propitious time, when consumers, many of them struggling to keep roofs over their heads and gas in their tanks, are buying substantially fewer fuel-thirsty trucks. [1] It'''s bad enough that some 30 General Motors plants have been idled as the result of a strike at the mega-supplier, American Axle. Now comes word GM itself is facing the threat of serious labor strife of its own. While no hard deadline has been issued, the United Auto Workers Union says it is ready to walk out at five factories because it has been unable to reach agreement on local contracts at those GM plants.[2]

The UAW has said a strike is possible at several GM plants -- including Flint Assembly -- if an agreement can't be reached on local labor contracts in less than two weeks. This is not good news for the majority of workers there already laid off because of the American Axle strike. if they went on strike, it would decrease their income even more. It would mean those workers who have not been laid off could go from the production line to the picket line.[3] American Axle, formed from parts plants sold by GM in 1994, wants to cut the labor costs to $20 (12.7) to $30 (19.1) an hour, which would be similar to competitors and to what will be paid to some new hires under agreements reached between the UAW and the in-house axle-making operations at Ford and Chrysler. Local union officials have said they know cuts will have to be made, but say its unfair for a profitable company to ask workers to take such huge pay reductions. They say workers are paid far less than $73.48 per hour, and that the figure includes retiree health care and other costs that shouldnt be added in.[4] The union helps keep our benefits, helps keep our raises, helps keep our wages, period. UAW Local 235 Vice President Bill Alford said, 'No question about it, they were going to join our strike. They understand the cause. They know why we're here, why we're out here fighting. We have shut down over 30 GM plants ' 3 percent of the gross national product of this country. Our company at American Axle has over 90 suppliers ' those people aren't doing anything right now. Each one of those GM plants has over 90 suppliers, those people aren't doing anything either. People understand this is the front line. If that guy (CEO Dick Dauch) gets what he wants and he's making money, where does it end? Where does it stop? Who's to say who gets the next cut? Next time we may be over at GM helping those guys stay out. 'Look at how vast and far reaching this strike is.[5] The scheduled talks come after UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle CEO Dick Dauch met privately today in a meeting that a company spokeswoman called "productive." The strike, involving 3,650 American Axle workers at four plants, has forced the supplier's largest customer General Motors Corp. to idle all or part of 30 plants, leading to thousands of layoffs at the automaker and several suppliers that have had to cut their own production.[6] The scheduled meeting comes more than a month after 3,650 UAW members walked off the job at five American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. plants in Michigan and New York. The meeting today is a possible sign that both sides want to see a faster resolution to the strike. "It's a very positive thing that Dick Dauch and Ron Gettelfinger are getting together," said Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235, which represents workers in Detroit. "Hopefully they can bring resolution to some of these issues."[7] In a speech last week, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger also criticized the more than $257 million in total compensation that Dauch has drawn from American Axle since 1998. He earned $10.2 million in 2007 alone, Gettelfinger said, while preparing to ask American Axle's rank and file to accept a contract that would slash their wages and benefits in half. Dauch, in interviews with Detroit newspaper columnists, has raised the specter of moving jobs to Mexico if American Axle can't get wages in line with its competitors. At rival Dana Holding Corp., the UAW agreed to lower its members' wages to an average of $14 an hour under the auspices of bankruptcy protection. That is half what American Axle was paying its UAW-represented workers before they went on strike.[8]

The strike by more than 3,600 workers at American Axle has revealed the unbridgeable chasm that separates rank-and-file auto workers from the leadership of the United Auto Workers union. An op-ed piece by UAW International President Ron Gettelfinger published April 4 in the Detroit News makes clear the position of the union hierarchy in the strike now entering its seventh week. After recounting the concessions the UAW has repeatedly granted the company, Gettelfinger writes: This year, we have again put forward responsible proposals to address American Axle's legitimate concerns. These proposals, if accepted, will mean real sacrifices by our members and real savings for the company.[9]

Summary: A move by the powerful United Auto Workers (UAW) union to put five General Motors plants on walkout notice could be for genuine grievances or a tactic to bring the automaker into supplier American Axle's strike talks, a U.S. based auto analyst has suggested.[10] The UAW collaborated with management to coerce workers into taking the buyout, according to a National Labor Relations Board complaint against UAW Local 424 filed by workers at the now-shuttered Buffalo, New York plant. The concessions the UAW has imposed on auto workers have enabled CEO Richard Dauch to pocket more than $250 million since he led a group of private investors to buy up the factories from General Motors in 1994. If American Axle now faces a cost disadvantage with major competitors such as Dana Corporation, it is because the UAW has a set up a bidding war between auto workers by handing over one concession after another in order to boost the profits of Detroit's Big Three automakers - General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.[9] UAW negotiators are expected to reconvene today, a union official said. Top negotiators from both sides are also expected to meet today, said American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers. Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235, which represents 1,900 workers at the Detroit auto supplier's Detroit plant, said he is optimistic both about Monday's meeting and the prospect for future talks.[6]

"There may be some part changes, colour changes as we go from the current model to the next model, and we need to do validation builds in preparation for that." She declined to comment on future plans at the plant, saying GM "can't speculate on the outcome of the strike." About 3,600 workers at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York walked off their jobs Feb. 26 after contract talks broke down over wages.[11] The employees were laid off from the Delevan plant February 22nd. American Axle gave them the option to return to work at 7:30 Monday morning. Kell said, "It actually made me feel really good; showed they support us and that they're with us." Peter Casal said, "That's our livelihood. We all need to stick together and stick this out to the end." Even he admits, sticking together for the last month hasn't been easy. Casal said, "It's a little aggravating trying to make ends meet." For now, union leaders are working to resolve local issues in each region first, before moving on to bigger issues such as wage cuts. The workers say they will continue to strike as long as they have to. In the meantime, American Axle now has the option of advertising job openings since those employees who were laid off, did not come to work Monday.[12] Lawmakers are hoping Americans will spend the money and help jump-start the economy. The strike at American Axle, now entering its sixth week, began when members of the United Auto Workers union walked off the job after rejecting cuts to their wages and benefits.[13] When the work stoppage started Feb. 26, and 3,650 American Axle workers went on strike, the union said the company had withheld data regarding pensions, health care and profit sharing that would substantiate the company's proposal. The company has sought to cut wages by half, as well as cuts to benefits, saying it must reduce its labor costs to compete with other axle operations that have recently won union concessions. In these circumstances, that the heads of the union and the company are planning to meet is, 'unquestionably a positive sign, but not a definitive one,' said Harley Shaiken, labor expert at the University of California at Berkeley.[14] Those who know Richard E. Dauch aren't surprised that the CEO of American Axle Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has dug in his heels against striking UAW workers. Dauch has put aside his reflexive empathy for labor to demand wage and benefit concessions that he believes are critical to the future of the company, says longtime friend David Cole. “I know he didn't want to do this, but he felt he had no other option to try and get his labor costs competitive with the market,” says Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. Dauch's hard-line negotiating stance has destroyed his longtime reputation as a friend of the worker. Today he is widely seen as anti-union in a region where union loyalties run deep.[8]

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. CEO Richard Dauch have a meeting set up for Monday to try to find a solution to the strike at the company, which has been going''on since Feb. 26.[15] DETROIT (AP) - United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings CEO Richard Dauch will meet in an effort to end a strike at the auto parts maker.[16]

DETROIT (Reuters) - Top leaders of The United Auto Workers and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) are to meet on Monday for the first time in months in what may be a positive development toward ending the union's nearly six-week-old U.S. strike against the auto parts supplier.[17] DETROIT -- Full bargaining teams for the United Auto Workers and American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. will return to negotiations Wednesday for the first time in nearly a month as a strike against the auto parts supplier entered its sixth week.[18]

The Arlington, Texas, plant that builds SUVs, meanwhile, will go on four-week layoff starting March 14th. A parts shortage created by the six-week United Auto Workers strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. has forced GM to all but halt production of its slow-selling but highly profitable large trucks and SUVs. GM shut down part of its Janesville, Wis., truck plant but continued to run a shift.[19] TORONTO -- General Motors Corp. plans to resume production of pickup trucks at its Oshawa, Ont. assembly site after a lengthy stoppage that fuelled a drop in Canada's auto manufacturing output last month by nearly a third. GM spokesman Stew Low confirmed Sunday the company will restart production at its Oshawa truck plant April 21 for three weeks as well as at another pickup plant in Fort Wayne, Ind. Both factories, which make the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra models, have been idled since Feb. 29 because of a strike at U.S.-based supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.[13] April 7 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. will shut a sport-utility vehicle assembly plant next week because of a strike at supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. Two factories that had been closed will reopen this month. On April 14, GM will shut its Arlington, Texas, plant that assembles the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, spokesman Dan Flores said in an interview today. A previously closed pickup-truck factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is running with one shift this week and will be fully operational by April 14.[20]

The ongoing strike by about 3,600 UAW workers against American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. has affected 30 General Motors plants and hundreds of its employees as well as several auto suppliers and employees.[21] About 3,650 UAW workers at American Axle have been on strike, hampering production at the parts maker and its main customer, General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research ), where some 30 plants have been idled or partly idled.[17] The strike has forced General Motors Corp. (GM), American Axle's largest customer, to fully or partially idle 30 plants. GM will restore a shift this week at its pickup truck plant in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and two shifts next week and production will run through May 5, GM spokesman Dan Flores said.[22] General Motors Corp., which as American Axle's largest customer has seen dozens of factories affected by the strike, plans to temporarily resume production at pickup truck plants in Oshawa, Ontario, and Fort Wayne, Ind., and halt production at an SUV plant in Arlington, Texas, in coming weeks.[14]

The ultimatum comes as GM's production is hobbled by a six-week UAW strike at auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which has forced GM to shut down or cut shifts at 30 factories in the United States and Canada. In letters GM received this week, UAW officials cited a desire to hasten progress in local contract talks, but didn't elaborate.[23] The threat could further slow vehicle production at GM, where a shortage of parts from striking supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings has affected operations at 30 facilities, including full shutdowns at 10 assembly, engine and transmission plants. It was unclear specifically what issues in local negotiations caused the unions to issue the strike notices.[24] Messages seeking comment were left with two local union leaders at the affected plants. GM is facing the strikes even as 30 of its U.S. and Canadian plants have been partially or fully shut down due to a five-week strike by supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. The strike has hit 29 GM plants as well as a plant run by AM General LLC that makes Hummers.[25]

Brian Langdon,35, GM Flint Assembly Truck and Bus plant worker, left, leads coworkers Randy Hamilton, 34, center and Craig Terrian, 33, around a picket line with members from Union local 235 outside American Axle Manufacturing Hamtrack on March 17.[14] Story by Tricia Cruz, WIVB. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - - It looks like American Axle is trying to get people to cross a union picket line in order to put their plants back online. Kevin Donovan with the UAW tells News 4, the company recalled 200 workers who were laid off from their Buffalo location prior to the strike.[12] The goal of Labor Upfront is to provide members and friends with news, information, and general ways to stay connected with the on-going struggles of workers. American Axle called back 140 workers March 31 who returned to work just long enough to say they were out on strike and immediately joined the UAW picket lines outside the plant. Workers had to choose between their unemployment checks or going out on strike.[5] About 580 area American Axle workers are on strike, said Jim Lakeman, president of UAW Local 846, which represents workers at the Tonawanda and Cheektowaga plants. The figure includes workers whose status recently changed from laid-off to striking when they refused to cross the picket line to return to work.[26]

If the strike drags on, there are local examples of companies using replacement workers. Striking UAW members interviewed this week said they doubted American Axle would hire replacements. "It's a scare tactic," Dwayne Manning said as he picketed outside the Town of Tonawanda forge last week. Manning and other picketers said they believed the company instead wants to prepare to hire new workers after a contract is approved. He and other picketers also said they felt the nature of their work made replacement workers an unlikely option. "It takes a long time to learn these jobs," Manning said.[26] New industrial organizations of the working class must be built in opposition to the corporatist unions. American Axle workers should spearhead this fight by electing rank-and-file committees, led by the most trusted militants, to take the conduct of the struggle and negotiations out of the hands of the UAW. These committees should directly appeal to all auto workers to spread the strike in order to overturn the wage-cutting contracts agreed to by the UAW throughout the auto industry.[9] Most auto contracts had been settled; the UAW agreed to tough new contracts with the Big Three and a number of suppliers last year. American Axle is demanding that workers agree to cutting their wages and benefits in half. The firm's 3,650 employees, who are organized by the United Auto Workers' union, say they can't live and provide for their families on that.[27]

Separately, Flores confirmed that GM and the United Auto Workers union have decided how many hourly jobs will be classified as noncore in each plant under the national labor agreement reached last fall. The contract allows GM to classify up to 16,000 jobs as noncore and allows the company to pay those workers about half the wages and benefits of other workers. GM is currently offering buyouts to workers in order to replace them with new hires who will make the lower wages.[25]

Gettlelfinger points out that the 2004 agreement slashed the company's labor costs by as much as $200 million per year. Far from voluntarily accepting these rollbacks, American Axle workers bitterly opposed the previous concessionary deals. The union and management were able to push them through only by blackmailing the workers with the threat of plant closings and mass layoffs - which then occurred anyway.[9] Here the UAW president acknowledges that there is a basic agreement between the union and American Axle over the company demand for steep cuts in labor costs. While castigating the company for poor negotiating practices which have made reaching a deal more difficult - including announcing huge bonuses for its top executives in the middle of a strike - Gettelfinger asserts that our members understand that the competitive realities of the auto industry have changed. That's why, he continues, we've already given American Axle a break in 2004 and 2006.[9] While GM has an adequate inventory of pickup trucks and SUVs, the strike also is starting to affect the production of GM's cars. Other auto suppliers also have been forced to idle production. American Axle is looking to cut its total hourly labor costs, which include wages and benefits, by about half.[22] An employee of a local auto related industry came to the picket line at American Axle on Monday to find out when the strike would end because he said his job might be in jeopardy. THREE RIVERS - Nearly six weeks into its strike, UAW picketers are not backing down. While they want the strike to end, there are several messages the American Axle strikers want the public to hear. "It's not about wages and it's not about benefits. It's about unfair labor practices," Steve Malleck Three Rivers said Monday.[28] Last night, members of the UAW rallied outside the Cheektowaga plant. They've been on the picket line for more than a month now, protesting a company they say is shedding good paying jobs, and shifting good work elsewhere. American Axle recalled about 200 laid-off employees earlier this week. Many of those recalled employees chose to honor the picket line and join the strike.[12]

The matter of which jobs would be classified as lower-paying, so-called noncore positions is not the sticking point in local negotiations, according to GM. Jim Robinson, an electrician in Arlington, said workers at his plant believed the strike threat was issued to demonstrate support for American Axle workers and was unpopular. Following the issuance of temporary layoff notices in Arlington on Friday, he believes a strike there is unlikely right away. GM distributed notices to Arlington workers on Friday saying that they would be laid off for three weeks beginning April 14, Robinson said. "When people heard about that five-day letter they were mad," Robinson said.[24]

About 3,600 workers at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York went on strike Feb. 26 mainly over wage and benefit cuts that the company is seeking.[4] More than 40,000 workers have been laid off as a result of the strike, which started Feb. 26. American Axle is looking to cut its total hourly labor costs, which include wages and benefits, by about half.[7]

About 3,650 American Axle workers represented by the UAW have been on strike since Feb. 26 in a dispute over wages and benefits.[22]

DETROIT -- The bitter 6-week-old UAW strike against American Axle & Manufacturing may have reached a turning point Monday as the top man from the union was scheduled to meet with the top man at the company. One of the suppositions on the picket line is that General Motors exerted its influence in making this meeting happen.[29] On the American Axle picket lines in Detroit Monday, there was optimism that the high-level meeting could lead to a settlement ending the strike. Worker Scott Reinke of New Baltimore said it's a sign that GM is starting to pressure American Axle to settle the dispute, which until recently had affected only factories that make large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks that aren't selling well.[18] Worker Scott Reinke of New Baltimore is hoping the meeting between the two leaders will lead to a settlement that will end the strike, which hits the six-week mark on Tuesday. "I just hope its not a dog-and-pony show, that they come with an equitable agreement," Reinke said Monday. He said he believes the high-level talks are a sign that GM is starting to pressure American Axle to settle the dispute, which until recently had affected only factories that make large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks that arent selling well.[4]

Last week the strike started to hit plants that make GM cars, which are selling better than trucks and SUVs due to high gasoline prices. The Detroit-Hamtramck facility that makes the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS sedans was shut down, and a local union president in Lordstown, Ohio, where GM makes the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 small cars, has said his plant will be affected. Workers at five GM plants are warning the company that they could go on strike in the next 10 days if local operating agreements aren't reached.[18] DETROIT, April 6 (UPI) -- Five General Motors Corp. plants could face strikes unless negotiations on local contracts are concluded quickly, U.S. auto industry experts said. The United Automobile Workers notified the company this week of its desire for progress in contract talks, The Detroit News reported.[30] The United Auto Workers union is threatening to strike five General Motors Corp. factories, including ones in Flint, Warren and Lansing, if deals aren't reached soon on local contracts for each of the plants.[23]

Workers at five General Motors Corp plants are warning the company that they could go on strike in the next 10 days if local operating agreements aren't reached, GM spokesman Dan Flores said.[25]

GM says UAW Local 602 out of Lansing's Delta Township Plant is giving the company 10 days to work out a local contract agreement or the workers might strike.[31] Unions at the plants have given GM five days to work out issues in bargaining. If the contracts aren't finalized by that time, they can issue a notice of intent to strike in five days. GM and the UAW reached a national agreement last fall, but local unions negotiate their own operating agreements with management.[32] If progress hasn't been made by that time, the local unions can issue a notice of intent to strike in another five days. Local plants negotiate their own operating agreements separate from the national contract, dealing with issues like overtime and work rules.[25]

Neither the union nor GM would comment on whether the new shift was connected to a strike notification that the UAW gave the company at Flint Truck last week. Hawkins said he was "extremely confident" the unsettled issues would be resolved soon in a new local contract for the plant.[33] The Chapter 11 exit of major supplier Delphi Corp. (DPHIQ) was derailed when an investor group said it wanted to back out of a $2.55 billion equity investment in the company. Late last week, UAW locals at five plants notified GM they may strike if there's no movement on resolving factory specific issues such as work rules and seniority.[34]

Separately, union workers at Arlington and other GM plants have sent strike letters to the company, giving GM five days to work out issues in bargaining.[35] Unions at the plants have given GM five days to work out issues in bargaining. If the contracts aren't finalized by that time, they can issue a notice of intent to strike in five days.[33]

Union workers at General Motors could once again be on the picket lines locally. Union leaders have notified the company they're not happy with the way local contract negotiations are going, and warn of a possible strike. It was just six months ago that all GM workers across the country went on strike and now some local workers could be going back. The strike last September was over the company's national contract with workers, but this time it's a disagreement over a local contract.[31]

The local represents workers at American Axle's main axle complex in Detroit. Dauch privately can be autocratic, vindictive and prone to using salty language on the factory floor to dress down supervisors in front of their hourly counterparts, Thompson says. “One supervisor's hands began shaking when he found out Dick was in the plant. For a long time, rank-and-file workers enjoyed Dauch's giving managers such rough treatment, in effect holding them to the same demanding standards as laborers, she says. They responded by working hard for American Axle. It showed in stellar quality and delivery records, confirms Bo Andersson, GM's group vice president for purchasing and supply chain. Now those workers find themselves on the other side of the line of scrimmage from a determined Dauch.[8] Dauch became a local workingman's folk hero. He invested $3 billion, mostly in upgrading American Axle's U.S. operations. He rejuvenated a rundown Detroit neighborhood by building American Axle's headquarters there. He endeared himself to workers, arm-wrestling them on the assembly line and remembering many of them, and their children, by name. Most important, he paid wages and benefits equivalent to those at larger auto companies.[8]

American Axle's honeymoon with labor began to change by 2004, Thompson says. That's when Dauch insisted on getting approval to pay new hires a lower wage than current workers, after the UAW made that concession to money-losing Delphi Corp. American Axle workers were incensed, she says.[8] American Axle has other unionized plants in the U.S. not covered under the master labor contract. The UAW has criticized a pay raise given to Dauch last year and Gettelfinger, in an April 4 opinion piece in The Detroit News, said the company's "poor negotiating practices are prolonging this dispute."[22] UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. CEO Dick Dauch are expected to meet Monday, bringing together the top officials of the two sides involved in a six-week strike that has led to plant shutdowns and layoffs throughout the auto industry.[14] UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dick Dauch -- leaders of the sides at odds in a six-week strike that has forced dozens of factory shutdowns and thousands of layoffs -- are expected to meet privately today.[36]

American Axle CEO Dick Dauch will meet Monday with United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger in a bid to end a six-week strike.[37] American Axle's Chief Executive Officer Richard E. Dauch and United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger met for the first time today since talks began in December and had a "productive'' session, said Renee Rogers, a spokeswoman for the supplier, without elaborating. After tomorrow's bargaining, the full negotiating teams will meet on April 9, she said.[20] United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle Chief Executive Richard Dauch are expected to meet today, a person familiar with the negotiations confirmed late Sunday.[7]

DETROIT, April 7 (Reuters) - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) said on Monday it would resume full negotiations between company representatives and a bargaining team for the United Auto Workers union on Wednesday.[38] Full negotiating teams for American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and the United Auto Workers union are scheduled to meet Wednesday for the first formal talks in weeks.[39] Leaders of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and the striking United Auto Workers are holding a scheduled meeting Monday in an apparent effort to break a stalemate in the union's six-week-old walkout.[40]

DETROIT -- The head of the United Auto Workers is scheduled to meet with the chairman of American Axle & Manufacturing on Monday in a sign that the two sides are interested in finally settling the monthlong strike.[41] American Axle laid off about 200 employees four days before the strike began February 26th. Instead of returning to work Monday, many chose to stand behind their co-workers who've been picketing in the rain, snow and cold for the past month. Bennet Kell said, "They walked in then they all turned around and joined the work stoppage, strike so it was pretty nice." The decision to join the strike means those workers are no longer eligible for unemployment since they rejected an offer to work. Kevin Donovan (United Auto Workers, Region 9) said, "It's a tough strike, tough situation, an unfair labor practice, haven't gotten information to make proper decision."[12] TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - They were laid off just days before their union co-workers went on strike at American Axle. At 7:30 Monday morning, dozens of workers who had been laid off before the strike, made their way through the picket line. Instead of reporting to work as they had been told, the group joined their co-workers on strike.[12] Donovan says union workers shouldn't answer the recall notice. The American Axle strike is entering its 6th week.[12] The UAW says American Axle has kept the union partly in the dark during most of the negotiations. It took more than five weeks into the strike for American Axle to provide financial information that the UAW says it was legally entitled to at the outset of talks.[8]

In an effort to pressure GM to help broker a deal with American Axle and maintain some credibility with an increasingly suspicious and hostile membership, the UAW has given a ten-day strike notification at five GM plants in Michigan, Ohio and Texas, and called a rally for April 18 in Detroit.[9] The result is an impasse that has affected more than 30 GM plants, with no accord in sight. With ripple effects, the economist estimates the American Axle strike may cost the economy 60,000 jobs. (He did think a Detroit newspaper prediction that it might topple the entire economy into recession by itself was "a bit of a stretch.") If there is any silver lining, it is that the strike may have helped Ford sell a few more of its F-150 pickup trucks, since the equivalent GM models are fast becoming unavailable. Otherwise it was an embarrassing week for Ford, which sold its Jaguar and Land-Rover luxury brands to Tata Motors of India for $2.3 billion, a small fraction of what the Dearborn automaker paid less than a decade ago. That doesn't even count the money Ford had dumped into the struggling nameplates.[27] General Motors says that two pick-up plants idled by the strike at American Axle are to reopen for about a month each, while an SUV plant in Arlington, Texas, will be shut down, The Detroit News reports. Until now, the latter was the only GM'light-truck plant in the U.S. and Canada not to be affected by the ongoing disruption. Dan Flores, a spokesman for the OEM, is quoted as saying the firm has managed to find enough parts to allow its Oshawa facility in Ontario, as well as the Fort Wayne plant in Indiana to run shifts building the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pick-ups. Both plants were closed on 29 February as the supply of parts from American Axle dried up.[42] General Motors Corp. said Saturday two pickup truck plants idled by the strike at parts maker American Axle will reopen for about a month each.[19] The strike has crippled pickup truck and SUV production at General Motors Corp., American Axle's biggest customer, and started to affect GM's production of cars.[40] The strike has stopped or hamstrung production at 30 factories of American Axle's dominant customer, General Motors Corp.[8] The strike has idled production at some 30 facilities operated by General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research ), which accounts for about 80 percent of American Axle's sales.[38]

Some of that undoubtedly was due to a tightening credit market and the subprime mortgage crisis; many would-be buyers no longer can use equity to buy vehicles. Industry spokesmen indicated they fear worse is yet to come. That's partly because, as McAlinden said, the strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. looks "like both sides are settling in for the long-term," he said, and if true, that could virtually shut down production throughout much of General Motors. That strike, which began Feb. 26, took observers by surprise. "I didn't see this one coming," McAlinden said.[27] The American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. strike has Tim and Teri Anthony of Flint struggling to stay on top of their bills. The day after American Axle employees went on strike in late February, Tim Anthony, 56, was laid off from his job at General Motors Truck and Bus Assembly in Pontiac.[21]

The parts are scarce because of a strike at supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. Jessica Caldwell, an analyst for auto-information Web site Edmunds.com, said GM may be betting on stronger demand for pickups when Ford and Dodge unveil new models this year. Such rollouts often spur sales of other similar vehicles, she said.[35] Production ground to a halt two months ago as the result of a strike by unionized workers at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. in the United States.[15] Serious negotiations are expected to resume this weekend as the strike at American Axle & Manufacturing reaches 40 days, but if talks do not progress, the company has raised the possibility of using replacement workers.[26] Aaron Bragman, an analyst with the consulting company Global Insight, said in a research note Monday that the strike notices could be a UAW tactic to draw GM into the American Axle talks.[4] A walkout would be another major body blow to GM, which has temporarily idled more than 30 factories around the country, as a result of parts shortages created by the six week-old strike at Detroit-based American Axle. Of the even dozen GM assembly lines not yet impacted by those parts shortage, the UAW'''s strike warning could shutter three.[2] To threaten to walk out at GM's more profitable ones is to put pressure on American Axle." Local strikes, depending on which plant they hit, can be crippling if they stop the flow of parts to other plants or put popular products in short supply.[23] "You don't do the things you normally do." American Axle's strike shut down 30 GM plants and more could come this week unless the heavy hitters can get the ball rolling again.[29] Flores would not say from where the plants will get parts. GM announced last week that it would shut down its Arlington, Texas, large SUV plant for three weeks starting April 14. That plant had remained in operation using parts from an American Axle plant in Mexico.[18] The UAW's impact also is dulled by a slumping U.S. auto market and especially weak demand for larger vehicles, which has left GM with excess supply of vehicles that use American Axle parts. "These Mexican plants are an important lever," Shaiken said. GM has continued production at its plant in Sialo, Mexico.[19] Analysts have speculated that GM is using parts from an American Axle factory in Mexico to feed production further north. Canadian auto output should get a boost as GM's Oshawa workers return to their jobs.[13]

Fortunately, we haven't had to borrow yet." About 3,600 UAW workers at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York left their jobs for the picket lines Feb. 26.[21] Workers at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York have been off the job since February 26th in a contract dispute.[16]

Some 3,650 UAW members walked off the job at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York on Feb. 26, and only sporadic negotiations have been held since.[39]

Dauch is a co-founder of American Axle, which investors bought out of GM in 1994. American Axle has said its hourly labor costs average more than $70, about three times higher than rivals, and without steep cuts in exchange for buyouts or some other payments, it would have to close the five striking U.S. plants.[17] American Axle has plants in Mexico, Brazil, Europe and Asia. The company has said its total U.S. hourly labor cost of $73.48 is three times the rate at its domestic competitors and too high for it to win new business.[4]

The company has continued to get supplies from an American Axle plant in Mexico, Bragman said. Union members in Arlington and four other U.S. plants have notified GM they may walk out over unresolved contract issues.[20] After the union local declined to agree to contract concessions, Buffalo employees were told in September 2006 that Camaro axles would be built elsewhere. A little more than a year later, American Axle idled its Buffalo plant.[8]

The UAW was frustrated that information American Axle provided last week was not all the union had requested, said Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235 in Detroit.[36] I guarantee it!" Letter continues here. Send resolutions to: Kenny Kapa, UAW Region 1 27800 George Merrelli Drive Warren, MI 48092 and also send them to: UAW Local 235 Attn: Adrian King, President 2140 Holbrook Ave. Hamtramck, MI 48212 phone: 313-871-1190 or email Bill Alford Jr., Vice President, Local 235, billalford74"at_"yahoo_.com Adopt a local, head out to the strike lines to take coffee, snacks, or march in solidarity with the workers! Kenny Kapa, UAW Region 1 Servicing Representative, is in charge of collecting assistance for the American Axle strikers at locals 235 and 262; checks can be made out to Region 1 UAW and sent to address for Kenny Kapa above.[5]

Art Wheaton, director of Buffalo labor studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, said if American Axle were to hire replacement workers during the strike, it could have an unintended effect. "I think it's the single biggest way to get the labor community to rally around the UAW," he said.[26] The news couldn't come at a better time at Flint Truck, where most of the 2,900 hourly and 265 salaried workers have been idled because of the strike at American Axle.[33] The workers were laid off prior to the start of the strike, which began on February 26th. Because they were laid off, these workers have been receiving unemployment benefits. Refusing to cross that line means they'd lose their eligibility for unemployment. Because American Axle has recalled workers, they're able to advertise for replacements, which they did in Sunday's Buffalo News.[12]

Workers at American Axle's Tonawanda forge plant, Cheektowaga machining operation and three facilities in Michigan have been on strike since Feb. 26.[40] Dauch's reputation has taken a beating since 3,650 members of the United Auto Workers struck five American Axle plants Feb. 26.[8] More than 500 American Axle workers at plants in Cheektowaga and Tonawanda remain off the job, as do thousands more at American Axle plants in Michigan.[43] John David, a worker striking at American Axle's Hamtramck plant, said he understands the company's need to stay competitive, but workers still need to be able to make a living.[41]

Richard E. Dauch, 65, the company's chairman and chief executive, earned $10.2 million last year -- $850,000 more than in 2006, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. American Axle earned $37 million in 2007 after posting a net loss of $222.5 million in 2006, when it began hinting that its workers would have to give something back for the company to keep moving forward. It just doesn't sit right. It matters not that the company is Dauch's company, or that he can move it to Mexico if he wishes. It is simply wrong to ask the troops to bleed while the generals feast.[1] Equality of sacrifice -- it is on that issue that the management of American Axle did something so dumb, it borders on the unforgivable. While demanding that its workers accept cuts in pay and other compensation to help the company underwrite future development and competitive costs, American Axle's top four managers gave themselves hefty raises.[1] Toyota has cut back Tundra production. From that perspective, the strike by American Axle's workers seems dumb on its face.[1]

GM needs to get past the American Axle strike and its traditional arrogance. Ford may survive as "a much smaller company by the end of the next decade," and Chrysler, he adds, desperately needs a new hyphen. (As in, Daimler-Chrysler.)[27] In the meantime, even with the American Axle strike stretching on and parts hard to come by, two GM truck assembly plans are temporarily reopening.[3] GM would not say where the parts are coming from, but the newspaper says several analysts it spoke to suggest a Mexican plant owned by American Axle may be the source. Chrysler LLC has also reportedly begun sourcing the parts it needs to keep building its own light trucks from facilities owned by the supplier in Mexico.[42] The UAW threat includes three of 12 U.S. assembly plants that have not been idled by the American Axle dispute, including a factory near Lansing where GM makes its fast-selling and profitable crossover SUVs. Other factories are an Arlington, Texas, truck assembly plant; a Parma, Ohio, metal stamping plant; a Warren transmission plant; and a Flint assembly plant that makes full-size and medium-duty trucks.[23] GM has stayed out of the fray. "The greatest likelihood is that this is an end run that the UAW is doing to put pressure on American Axle," Gary Chaison, a labor specialist at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "American Axle has been very intransigent in negotiations, and the plants that have closed are not the profitable ones.[23]

The UAW and American Axle appear far apart on the issue of wages and benefits. American Axle is looking to cut its total hourly labor costs, which include wages and benefits, by about half.[34] The union has said American Axle failed to provide enough details to evaluate the company's demands for wage and benefit cuts.[17]

The company is expected to offer buyouts and buy-downs in return for the wage concessions. American Axle has said that the UAW has agreed to similar terms at other suppliers, including its competitors.[7]

Renee Rogers, spokeswoman for the Detroit auto parts supplier, said that American Axle CEO Richard Dauch and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger were scheduled to meet April 7. "I don't know the timing," she said in an e-mail message. "It is in the Detroit metro area."[40] The move came after a Monday meeting between American Axle Chief Executive Dick Dauch and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger in Detroit, the first face-to-face meeting by the two principal negotiations in about four months. "It was very productive," American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said of the meeting between Gettelfinger and Dauch. Full negotiations between bargaining teams for both sides broke off on March 11 and only sporadic talks have been held since amid signs of escalating tension between the two sides.[38] UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle CEO Richard Dauch planned to talk during the day, but American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said she did not know the time or place of the meeting.[4]

The return to the bargaining table comes on the heels of a meeting Monday between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle CEO Richard Dauch.[39]

A company spokesman confirmed to Dow Jones Newswire that UAW President Ron Gettelfinger will meet with Richard E. Dauch, American Axle's chairman and chief executive.[41]

In a separate development, The Detroit Free Press claims the president of the United Auto Workers,'Ron Gettelfinger, and American Axle & Manufacturing's chief executive Dick Dauch are to meet privately later on 7 April.[42] BUFFALO (2008-04-07) There is word from Detroit that the president of the U-A-W and the C-E-O of American Axle will be meeting Monday in a bid to reach a settlement. Arthur Wheaton at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations in Buffalo says it would be in the best interests of both sides to come to an agreement. He says the walkout could further hurt auto sales.[43] As one American Axle striker in Detroit told the World Socialist Web Site : The UAW used to fight big business. Now they are a big business. According to a recent filing with the Department of Labor, the UAW last year saw an increase in the interest income from its investments, even as UAW membership levels fell to the lowest point since 1941.[9] The move is evidence American Axle's ability to get parts from Mexico gives it leverage in the dispute with the UAW, said labor expert Harley Shaiken of the University of California Berkley.[19] The labor action has forced GM, American Axle's largest customer, to idle all or part of 30 factories.[34]

A parts shortage from American Axle has stalled or shut production at GM's light-truck assembly plants throughout North America.[20] Flores wouldn't specify where the parts are coming from, though several analysts have said GM is likely using parts from an American Axle plant in Mexico.[19] Only 12 GM assembly plants are operating right now because the walkout at American Axle has left the others without parts.[30]

The former Purdue University football player has been viewed for the better part of 15 years as a revered elder statesman of the auto industry. In 1994, he and former Chevrolet executive James McLernon took five of GM's cast-off, money-losing axle operations and built American Axle into a successful driveline maker. It posted 2007 net earnings of $37 million on sales of $3.25 billion.[8] New vehicles like the Malibu are one of GM's few bright spots, with sales up 17 percent. Codelia Moore, a 14-year American Axle line veteran, showed up to pull her usual 4 a.m. shift on the picket line Monday morning. While the bitter cold of the past six weeks is behind her, there's one lingering concern she brings three days a week.[29]

A VEBA was also set up at Dana Corporation, and a similar deal may be in the works at American Axle. There is a growing recognition that workers cannot defend their interests through the UAW and that a new road of struggle must be found.[9] American Axle said it expects a large number of workers to leave once a new contract is secured, via buyouts or retirements, creating vacancies to fill.[26]

American Axle has other unionized plants in the U.S. not covered under the master labor contract. Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.[7] American Axle plants on strike: 1840 Holbrook Ave, Hamtramck, MI 48212-3488 1 Manufacturing Dr, Three Rivers, MI 49093-8915 1001 E Delavan Ave, Buffalo, NY 14215 2390 Kenmore Ave, Tonawanda, NY 14150-7847 2799 Walden Ave, Cheektowaga, NY 14225 To remove your name from our mailing list, please e-mail [email protected] We welcome questions, comments and stories for our next newsletter. Send them to us at laborupfront "at_"cpusa_.org or call (773) 446-9920, ext. 212.[5] The UAW is willing to accede to more job losses, but it is no doubt seeking assurances from American Axle that it will maintain a minimum number of jobs at UAW-represented plants, thereby guaranteeing a future flow of dues income.[9] The driver, employed at an auto related industry, wanted to know when the strike would end. He was worried and agitated that the American Axle strike would cost him his job.[28] CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) - - The men and women who walked off their jobs at American Axle say they'll strike as long as they have to.[12]

The Flint factory has been partially shut down by the American Axle strike but continues to build medium-duty trucks.[23]

FLINT - The UAW has warned General Motors that Flint Truck Assembly Plant could go on strike in the next 10 days if a local operating agreement is not reached. That's not a welcome prospect for some workers.[32] General Motors Corp. faces the possibility of strikes at five plants in Michigan, Ohio and Texas as early as April 13 if the automaker is unable to reach local contract agreements at those UAW locals within 10 days.[24] FLINT (WJRT) -- (04/07/08)--Local General Motors Corp. employees are bracing for a strike if no agreement is reached on local labor contracts.[3]

In a statement to 6 News a GM spokesman said the company remains committed to continue bargaining in good faith toward reaching a tentative local labor agreement as soon as possible. Some workers say they've heard talk of a possible strike and right now they're just waiting to see if it actually comes to that.[31] Talks continued Monday between GM and the United Auto Workers union. Chairman of UAW Local 598 Mark Hawkins says he is extremely confident they are going to resolve these issues without a strike. Exactly what those specific issues are is unclear.[3] The new information is not what the union had requested, said Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235, which represents 1,900 workers at the company's Detroit plant.[14] One charge, the firm's premature canceling of health care benefits for some workers, was resolved Thursday. The second, the withholding of needed financial data is under review, said UAW Local 235 President Adrian King, who represents workers at the Detroit plant.[26]

The actual basic wage of the factory workers range from 13.50 to 28 an hour, said Erv Heidbrink, president of UAW Local 2093. To cut that in half would put them at poverty level and below, he said.[28] The UAW president declared, however, We'd like nothing better than to cancel our rally because the strike was resolved by having a ratified contract. That the union is offering major wage and benefit cuts is clear from the letter, as well as documents previously leaked to the Detroit Free Press that showed the union had offered substantial givebacks on the eve of the strike.[9] "Ratcheting up the rhetoric by threatening production at two plants that make GMs current hits would most certainly elevate the discussion to a new level, however." GM spokesman Dan Flores said Monday he could not comment on why the union issued the strike letters. He said GM is "obviously focused on continuing to bargain in good faith at all those locations and certainly are focused on reaching new tentative local contracts as soon as possible."[4] The other plants are in Flint, Lansing, Warren and Parma, Ohio. Union locals representing those plants this week told GM they would go on strike if local contracts are soon reached.[19] Dan Smith, the shop chairman at Local 1005 in Parma, Ohio, posted a notice on the union local Web site Friday morning that said the strike notification letters were issued because the union committee had reached an impasse in local contract negotiations with plant management. He did not specify what that impasse was.[24]

Gettelfinger's editorial came amidst a flurry of activity by the UAW International aimed at strangling the strike. Last week the UAW announced that the company had begun handing over data requested by the union on its labor costs. This was followed by a meeting between the UAW International and local union representatives on the weekend and a face-to-face meeting on Monday between Gettelfinger and Dauch.[9] GM and the UAW reached a national labor agreement last fall, but local unions negotiate individual plant operating agreements with management.[33] The UAW reached terms, last Summer, with GM on a nationwide agreement ''' as it did with the automaker'''s cross-town rivals, Ford and Chrysler. Individual union locals also negotiate their own plant-level contracts, agreements that can cover such matters as job security, productivity, and even bathroom breaks.[2] The local talks dragged on for months as the union and company negotiated the scope and exact definition of what are being called core versus non-core jobs. While those categories were negotiated at the national level, the specific guidelines are laid out in the local agreements, making them part of local talks. GM lacks deals with virtually all of its local unions.[23]

GM and the UAW estimated as part of the labor deal that about 16,000 U.S. factory jobs would eventually become non-core. It will take years for that transition to happen, since senior workers must retire to make way for the new hires.[23] • GM and the UAW confirmed an additional temporary shift will begin operating May 12. Mark Hawkins, shop chairman for UAW Local 598, said the announcement was made to workers Monday morning, but some details -- including who will fill those temporary jobs -- are still being settled.[33]

Adrian King, who heads a UAW local at the American Axle complex in Detroit and sits on the bargaining team, said negotiators were told to come to Detroit on Tuesday, but were given no other details of Monday's meeting.[18] Every striker was especially careful to mention the support they've felt - the gifts of food, use of vehicles, loads of wood to keep the barrels burning around the clock, a food pantry and even honks of encouragement as people drive by. Other local UAWs have given money that has provided milk vouchers for those who need it. They are also given about 100 dozen eggs per week to distribute and soon they'll have pork from another UAW, Ballard said. Some like Ballard have worked at American Axle for many years and are prepared for a situation like this.[28] American Axle provided additional financial information to the UAW last week at the union's request.[17] Last week American Axle said it provided the UAW with documents the union had been requesting since the discussions began.[20]

Some analysts speculated that the UAW's threat may be part of a strategy to pressure GM into helping broker a resolution with American Axle.[23] Until now the parts shortage created by the American Axle dispute has affected some of GM's slowest sellers, helping the automaker to pare bloated inventories.[23]

Analysts say that may be a move to spur GM to force a deal between American Axle and its workers.[20] We're getting support from Toledo to California. We received this e-mail from the wife of an American Axle worker last week, a letter her husband wrote. This is the voice we so often don't hear from a media spinning what's best for the corporate CEO's, what will make Wall Street stronger rather than what the people walking down Main Street need to survive and live a comfortable life.[5] TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - We're following an important decision for hundreds of striking American Axle workers Monday.[12] Last weekend, American Axle placed ads in newspapers that raised the possibility of hiring temporary replacement workers.[22] The third message the American Axle workers want the community to hear is a huge "thank you."[28]

"Why should you give anything back when you're making money?" Meanwhile, American Axle CEO Richard Dauch has threatened to move production to Mexico and other countries where wages are lower. The company wants to make more money, Marcia Ballard of Sturgis said, "but are they thinking about the families? I don't think so."[28] American Axles Dauch has warned that the company has the ability to move work now done in the U.S. to foreign factories.[4]

American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said the meeting between American Axle Chief Executive Richard E. Dauch and Gettelfinger was "productive," and top- level negotiators from both sides will meet Tuesday before the full teams meet Wednesday.[22] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers confirmed that Dauch and Gettelfinger would meet, but provided no other details.[17]

Gettelfinger & Co. are intent on defending the interests of the union bureaucracy in any deal with American Axle.[9]

Full bargaining teams from the UAW and American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. are expected to meet Wednesday in the first formal talks between the two sides in more than a month.[6] The scheduled meeting comes after American Axle made some moves to try to speed up the slow pace of talks.[34]

Chrysler LLC, also a customer of American Axle, has been receiving parts from the parts maker's Mexican plants.[19]

Production at a truck plant in Oshawa, Ontario, will resume April 21. The changes suggest Detroit-based GM may be trying to boost supplies of vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and cut back on slower-selling SUVs as the six-week strike limits parts, said Aaron Bragman, an analyst at Global Insight Inc. GM's SUVs and pickups share many components.[20] About 400 to 450 employees have continued to work on the medium-duty commercial truck line during the strike, producing the GMC TopKick and Chevrolet Kodiak. GM announced in December that it had a tenative agreement to sell its medium-duty truck business to Navistar. A final deal is expected to be signed sometime later this year. The expectation has been that Navistar, formerly known as International Harvester, will move production to its Springfield, Ohio, plant.[33] Flint Truck is one of five plants that have warned GM that there could be a strike if new local operating agreements are not approved quickly.[33] "We remain committed to continuing to bargain in good faith toward reaching a tentative local labor agreement as soon as possible." The notices, called five-before-five letters, mean that those five plants could go on strike as early as 10 days from the issue of their letters, the first of which went out Thursday.[24]

The three assembly plants, especially Lansing, produce popular GM models, and local strikes would be a major problem for the company, the newspaper said.[30] "Ratcheting up the rhetoric by threatening production at two plants that make GM's current hits would most certainly elevate the discussion to a new level, however." Flores said Monday he could not comment on why the union issued the strike letters.[18] On Monday, GM confirmed it would restart pickup truck plants in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Oshawa, Ontario, that had been closed since late February because of the strike. The Fort Wayne plant will go to one shift this week, then to the normal two shifts for the next four weeks, spokesman Dan Flores said. Oshawa will resume two-shift production for three weeks starting April 21, he said.[18]

The strike has crippled pickup truck and SUV production at General Motors Corp. (GM) and has started to affect the auto maker's car production.[34] Gettelfinger and Dauch met Monday in an effort to end the strike against the auto parts maker that has forced General Motors Corp. to cut production across the nation. King said he is optimistic about returning to bargaining. "I've got a thousand things running through my mind right now," he said.[18]

The strike has caused a parts shortage that has forced General Motors Corp. to close or curtail work at 29 factories, as well as a Hummer plant run by AM General LLC.[4] The strike has forced the partial or complete shutdown of all or part of 30 General Motors Corp. factories, Axle's largest customer.[7]

A parts shortage from the strike has forced 29 General Motors factories to shut down, including Moraine.[44]

Truck production at a General Motors''plant in Oshawa, Ont., is to resume later this month after being shut down since February because of a strike at one of the companies supplying GM parts.[15] The strike has also forced G-M to reduce production or shut down some plants altogether because of a shortage of parts.[43]

The resulting parts shortage has forced GM and other customers to shut down plants in the U.S. and Canada, affecting thousands of workers.[11] The shutdown will begin April 14 and affect 2,400 workers, the company confirmed on Friday. Workers, most of them represented by the United Auto Workers, expect to continue to get most of their pay due to provisions of their contract with the auto maker. The Arlington plant produces five models of large SUVs, and sales of each fell sharply last month from their year-ago levels as consumers felt the sting of higher gasoline prices.[35] The last few weeks have been tough ones for the notoriously battered Michigan-based auto industry. The United Auto Workers' union, whose membership was about 1.6 million back in 1970, when Walter Reuther was still alive, confirmed that they now have fewer has 465,000 members, a 14 percent drop over the past year. Crystal balls are notoriously cloudy, but if anyone should be able to peer into the automotive future, it is McAlinden, who is both an economist (he has a Ph.D from the University of Michigan) and a "car guy." He's currently chief economist and vice-president for research at Ann Arbor's nonprofit Center for Automotive Research. The good news, according to his research and a lifetime of watching the industry, is that what used to be called the "Big Three" are likely to survive, though he doesn't think Chrysler can make it without eventually partnering with another company. The long-term bad news is that these companies are likely to get smaller, especially Ford, and especially after the middle of the next decade.[27] In exchange for sacrificing the hard-won gains of generations of auto workers in the Big Three negotiations last year, the UAW was granted control of a retiree health care trust fund - a Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association, or VEBA - worth more than $50 billion, with much of it paid in Ford and GM stock.[9]

High tension surrounding labor talks in Detroit has become a reality as the fast-shrinking UAW clashes with auto companies in the midst of wrenching restructuring. The UAW launched short strikes last fall against GM and Chrysler LLC, before agreeing to landmark cost-cutting labor deals with each of Detroit's Big Three.[23] Amid the tension, union and company officials are optimistic about resuming talks since an a charge of unfair labor practices filed against the company has been resolved, and a second one could be soon, the Detroit News reported.[26] Then the company announced that it gave the union more financial information, an issue at the heart of an unfair labor practice complaint against the company. The UAW had argued that the company didn't provided the data necessary to evaluate its proposals.[22]

A national labor deal signed last fall between the union and automaker calls for a second tier of lower-paid hourly workers at GM's U.S. factories.[23] The stoppage has forced the complete or partial shutdown of 30 GM factories staffed by 39,128 hourly workers, about half of the company's hourly manufacturing workforce in North America. Thousands of workers at other suppliers in both the United States and Canada have been laid off temporarily as the strike drags on.[13] The company said it could also hire people to serve as temporary replacement workers during a strike that began Feb. 26. Locally, workers denounced such an idea at a rally Friday at the Cheektowaga plant on Walden Avenue.[26] The company has reinstated health care and disability benefits to injured workers, King said. Those workers should have retained those benefits despite the union's strike, he said. The same applies to family members who were receiving long-term medical care, such as a surgery or child-birth, before the strike began.[26] Well aware of the militant opposition of rank-and-file workers, however, the UAW has a concern, not for upholding wages and benefits, but for how best to frustrate and undermine the resistance of the workers as it strikes a concessionary deal.[9] Patrick Heraty, a professor of business administration at Hilbert College, who follows the auto industry, said using replacements could add to the UAW's frustrations over the company's push for deep wage cuts. "The UAW is so angry right now and so upset that it would seem the use of replacement workers would really intensify the hostility," he said. "It would create really bad feelings, or worsen the feelings."[26] Workers were still on the picket line Sunday, striking because of wage cuts. The UAW has asked to see some financial documents and say the information they've received from the company is insufficient.[41]

The shutdowns caused by the American Axle dispute have actually helped the company to cut inventories. [30] American Axle has received "hundreds" of applications for the positions it advertised in Michigan and Western New York, said Renee Rogers, a company spokeswoman.[26]

American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said Friday that the full bargaining teams from the UAW and American Axle were expected to meet separately through the weekend.[25]

"We all want our jobs," said Tim Griffin of Decatur. Monday afternoon, partway though their four-hour shift, a car drove to the back gate of American Axle as if to cross the picket line. Malleck and David Makowski of Schoolcraft asked the driver what his intentions were.[28] What the corporation wants is to cut employees pay in half and decrease benefits. American Axle said their employees were making 68-72 per hour.[28] An estimated 200 American Axle employees who had been out on layoff are now being recalled, and ordered to report for work at 7:30 Monday morning.[12]

Bragman also wrote that production of the popular Chevrolet Malibu may also be affected by the American Axle shutdown.[4] Below is a copy of a letter that my husband has written to Dick Dauch and the Shareholders of American Axle. I ask that you share this letter.[5] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers says the meeting was scheduled for today.[16] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers says the meeting was productive and says the two leaders will meet again tomorrow. She says the full bargaining teams will return to the table on Wednesday.[45]

American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers characterized the session as "productive," without providing details. Top officials from both sides will meet today, with the full teams at the table Wednesday, Rogers said.[39] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said the two leaders are to meet Monday.[34] If so, American Axle must ship the axles almost 2,000 miles to Oshawa, Ontario, where the Camaro is assembled.[8]

The production version of the Chevrolet Volt will look a lot like the concept General Motors Corp. showed at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. [37] The hedge fund Appaloosa Management LP made the announcement as Delphi, a major parts supplier to General Motors Corp., faced a Friday deadline to raise $6.1 billion in loans to help it out of bankruptcy.[37]

FLINT, Michigan -- Five hundred short-term jobs are coming to Flint Truck Assembly next month as General Motors adds an additional shift to its medium-duty truck line, a UAW official has told The Flint Journal.[33]

"GM and the UAW have reached an agreement to clarify items related to the 2007 national labor agreement, including the specific number of non-core job assignments at each facility," Flores said.[23] The auto parts supplier said the primary reason it advertised was to develop a pool of candidates to draw from after it reaches a labor agreement with the United Auto Workers.[26] The announcement represents a breakthrough in what had become a tense showdown between the two sides amid a six-week-old strike by some 3,650 union-represented workers at the auto parts supplier.[38]

Two weeks into the strike, Dauch went vacationing in Florida while workers in Detroit and Buffalo, N.Y., picketed in the snow.[8]

Richard E. Dauch's reputation among labor started to tarnish after he went on vacation while workers walked the picket lines.[8] Away from the picket line, union members launched a campaign questioning the quality and safety of tires made by salaried workers and the temporary replacements.[26] The company has run help-wanted ads in newspapers. Using replacement workers is controversial in a union town, yet it's a maneuver other local companies have used.[26] Issues bargained at the local level include matters of health and safety and resolution of grievances filed by workers against the company. In the best of times, those talks have the potential to be contentious.[23] Until recently, the main point of contention between the two sides in local talks had been the implementation of a two-tier wage system for hourly workers.[23]

New hires whose job falls into the lower tier will make about half the $28 an hour wage earned by existing workers.[23] The automaker Friday confirmed that it has reached a deal with the union on how many jobs and which tasks would fall into the lower wage, eliminating that as a reason for workers to walk off the job.[23]

During the United Steelworkers' strike at Goodyear- Dunlop in late 2006, the union estimated the company used several hundred temporary replacements who earned about two-thirds of the average union hourly wage.[26] Eastman Machine also bused in replacements during a 2005 strike by UAW members, prompting the union to set up an oversized rat balloon outside the plant.[26] If progress hasn't been made by that time, the local unions can issue a notice of intent to strike in another five days.[18] If the impasse continues, the local unions could issue a notice of intent to strike.[35]

Arlington is one of five GM factories threatening to strike the automaker if local contracts aren't seen reached. [19] Calls to a spokesman at UAW headquarters in Detroit were not returned. GM and many of its UAW locals continue to negotiate local contracts.[24] Local plants negotiate over overtime and work rules in agreements that are separate from the national UAW contract.[35] Under the UAW system, the national union bargains for pay and economic benefits while union locals hammer out work rules.[24]

In 1998, a UAW Flint strike against GM stemmed from a conflict at the local level.[23] "The UAW has notified GM that they intend on issuing a five-day strike notice in five days at our Arlington, Texas; Parma, Ohio; Warren Transmission; Lansing Delta Township and Flint Assembly plants," GM spokesman Dan Flores said.[24]

"Uh, oh," said Sadie Hodge, 28, of Swartz Creek. "That would mean strike pay, and that would mean losing everything." GM spokesman Dan Flores confirmed Friday that the company has gotten letters from the Van Slyke Road plant in addition to those in Lansing; Warren; Arlington, Texas; and Parma, Ohio.[32] The company was able to find enough parts to briefly reopen the two plants, a GM spokesman told the Detroit News recently.[15] GM spokesman Dan Flores said the automaker managed to find enough parts to allow factories in Oshawa, Ontario, and Fort Wayne, Ind., to run shifts building Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. Those plants have been shut down since Feb. 29 and will reopen in the next couple of weeks.[19] Flint is not on that list. A plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., will start one shift this week and go to two for at least the next couple of weeks, according to a GM spokesman.[3]

Besides slowing SUV sales, GM has diverted some axles from Arlington to other plants that produce pickups.[35] An earlier Dauch-UAW confrontation was a precursor to the current strike. It flared at the Buffalo Gear, Axle Linkage plant in Buffalo, N.Y.[8]

FORT WORTH ' General Motors will idle its Arlington plant for three weeks as it tries to reduce inventories of sport utility vehicles to match slower consumer demand for the big rigs.[35] The automaker said the plant, which makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, will run for three weeks to make sure that everything's ready for the next model cycle.[11] As of Friday, seven assembly plants, including the Flint Truck Assembly Plant, remained idled, said Dan Flores, a GM spokesman.[21] The resulting parts shortage has forced GM to shutter all or some of 30 plants.[21]

AAM states the Detroit facilities are losing money. It is our fault and we need to take a pay cut to adjust their profits accordingly. Well, I wonder if Mr. Dauch knows how his plant is mismanaged and that he is misinformed by his management.[5] Dauch has taken a hard line before. He doesn't like booze around his plants. In 1996, he quietly bought nearly a half-dozen bars and liquor stores around his Detroit plants, then bulldozed them. He cited the negative impact of alcohol on industrial safety.[8]

The resumption of talks came after a meeting Monday between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and company CEO Richard Dauch. [18] The resumption oftalks came after a meeting Monday between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and company CEO Richard Dauch. Top negotiators for both sides will meet Tuesday and full teams will bargain on Wednesday.[46]

The meeting comes after the UAW's bargaining team gathered Friday and Saturday to discuss new information that the company provided during the last two weeks, in meetings that some had hoped would lead to renewed talks. [14]

Gettelfinger told Reuters last week there had been little progress in the talks and blasted "excessive compensation" paid to Dauch over the years.[17]

Monday's meeting between Dauch and Gettelfinger is the first positive development for some time in what has become a longer and more acrimonious strike than many initially thought.[22] Gettelfinger, in his op-ed article, added that the UAW "would like nothing better than to cancel our rally because the strike was resolved by having a ratified contract."[34] Thank you for your time and consideration. J.G. 'It is no secret that AAM and the UAW are at odds with the new contract. It is no secret that the rumors, of the proposed contracts, are going to hurt thousands of families.[5]

Striking worker Darrin Lewek, of UAW Local 235, holds out some hope. "Yeah, it's looking positive," said striking worker Darrin Lewek. "That's the way I like to look at it." This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. [29] The complete teams haven't negotiated since mid-March, said Local 235 President Adrian King, who represents workers in Detroit, in an interview today.[20]

Workers there expected to build axles for the next-generation 2009 Chevrolet Camaro muscle car.[8] Issues that could save AAM considerable amounts of money. He needs to come down to the floor and speak with the men and women that work hard for him and honestly know the' ins and outs' of their machines and departments. He would hear honest opinions and thorough suggestions that would better productivity. It would change his idea of what his workers really do and in time will even see better profits.[5]

By the time the 54-day strike ended, it had become the priciest dispute in GM's history, costing the automaker more than $2 billion.[23] With car inventories high and truck and suv inventories twice as high as that, tying up billions of dollars worth of product idling in lots for months, the timing for a couple month strike could not have been better for GM.[2]

One labor analyst said the meeting between the two top officials is a significant development, as the strike has lasted longer and gotten more acrimonious than many thought it would. "Essentially, they're meeting to get this back on track," said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California Berkeley. "That doesn't mean a settlement is imminent. It means both sides are concerned enough to try to discuss it at the highest levels."[34] Harley Shaiken, a labor expert at the University of California at Berkeley, said the fact that the heads of the union and the company are planning to meet is, "unquestionably a positive sign, but not a definitive one."[36] The union must provide written notice to the automakers before engaging in any labor action, though it'''s not clear if UAW leaders yet have hard deadlines in mind.[2]

"We remain committed to continue bargaining in good faith toward reaching a tentative local labor agreement as soon as possible," GM spokesman Dan Flores said.[23]

Rogers said UAW officials from the Detroit-based company's five local bargaining units would rejoin negotiations on Wednesday.[38] The company and union have been far apart on the issues of wages and benefits.[40] I can't blame the companys for sending jobs overseas when union constantly throwing temper tantrums disrupts the whole country.[2] Union negotiators from Three Rivers and from New York went home Saturday after reviewing financial information provided by the company because it was deemed insufficient, King said. He wouldn't provide specifics.[7]

While the company was profitable last year, it said the plants in question have not been profitable for years. [22] Ballard has worked at the plant for 28 years with wages starting at about 9 an hour.[28]

Learning to run the plant's equipment and machinery would be difficult and dangerous for an inexperienced new hire, said Lenny Price, who was also on the picket line.[26] A plant making sport utility vehicles in Arlington, Texas, will shut down April 14 for three weeks.[15]

Amati said environmental and fuel-economy issues are now part of just about every discussion when it comes to designing or manufacturing vehicles or filling the supply chain that will be used to build and fuel the vehicles of the future. For that reason he said, as many as 600 of the more than 1,400 technical papers to be presented at SAE will deal with issues related to emissions and the environment or alternative-fuel powertrains. The annual gathering of automotive experts from around the world is expected to draw more than 35,000 members this year. [37] GM rose 43 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $21.01 at 4:00 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have fallen 16 percent this year.[20]

The firm, which has offices in Radnor, Pa. and Menlo Park, Calif., invests in a wide range of clean technology companies. DELL, GOODWILL OFFER RECYCLING: Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit is once again teaming with Dell in the Reconnect program, which collects outdated electronic equipment and recycles it to keep harmful chemicals out of landfills, such as lead or mercury. TAX REBATES COULD FUND VACATIONS: For many Americans, those tax rebate checks meant to stimulate the economy will be coming just in time for a vacation. [37]

SOURCES

1. The Generals Are Losing the War at American Axle - washingtonpost.com
2. TCC Blog » Blog Archive » GM Facing Threat of New Labor Strife
3. abc12.com: Local GM employees brace for possible strike 4/07/08
4. UAW, American Axle leaders to meet in effort to end strike - International Herald Tribune
5. CPUSA Online - Labor Upfront, Special Edition Strike Update: AMERICAN AXLE
6. UAW, American Axle to meet Wednesday | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
7. Gettelfinger, Axle's Dauch to meet today
8. Labor's hero Richard Dauch falls from grace - Crain's Detroit Business
9. As US auto strike enters seventh week UAW president backs "real sacrifices" for American Axle workers
10. US: Is new UAW walkout notice an AAM strike tactic?: Automotive News & Comment
11. The Canadian Press: GM to resume truck production in Oshawa, Ont., plant for three weeks
12. WIVB TV: News, Weather, Sports for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and all of Western New York | American Axle workers continue strike
13. Pickup production returns to Oshawa
14. UAW and Axle leaders are planning to meet Monday | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
15. GM truck production in Oshawa to resume briefly
16. KGBT 4 - TV Harlingen, TX: UAW, American Axle leaders to meet in effort to end strike
17. UAW, American Axle top leaders to meet on Monday | Reuters
18. Talks to Resume in American Axle Strike | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
19. GM to close Texas plant for three weeks
20. Bloomberg.com: Canada
21. Domino effect of strike spreads- mlive.com
22. Amer Axle To Resume Full Talks With UAW Wednesday
23. UAW: Five GM plants face strike
24. GM given strike warnings at 5 plants | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
25. General Motors plants threaten strikes - Breaking News - Business - Breaking News
26. The Buffalo News: Business: American Axle, UAW resume talks
27. Traverse City Record-Eagle - Op-Ed: Brains, not brawn, needed
28. The Sturgis Online Community - News
29. Optimism Shows On Picket Line - Detroit News Story - WDIV Detroit
30. UAW threatens local strikes at 5 GM plants - UPI.com
31. WLNS TV 6 Lansing Jackson Michigan News and Weather - WLNS.COM | Union Workers not happy with Negotiations
32. Strike looms at truck plant- mlive.com
33. 500 temporary GM jobs slated for Flint plant, union says - The Flint Journal Online News - Michigan Newspaper - MLive.com
34. American Axle CEO, UAW President To Meet Monday - Company
35. GM closing Arlington plant for three weeks | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
36. Heads of UAW, Axle to meet | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
37. WWJ Newsradio 950 - Daily Dash - April 7, 2008
38. UPDATE 1-American Axle to restart full talks with UAW | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters
39. American Axle talks to resume Wednesday
40. Axle strike talks go right to top - Business First of Buffalo:
41. UAW, American Axle To Talk Monday - Detroit News Story - WDIV Detroit
42. Automotive World - US: GM to idle Arlington'light truck'plant but re-open two others
43. WNED: UAW & American Axle Resume Talks (2008-04-07)
44. 1290whio.com: News
45. Terre Haute, Indiana Weather, News, Sports and Entertainment WTHI.com, News 10, Leading the Way! | UAW, American Axle chiefs meet, to resume talks Tuesday
46. WWJ Newsradio 950 - American Axle, UAW Leaders To Meet

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