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Apr-13-2008

Outlook appearing brighter in Detroit

(topic overview)
CONTENTS:

"We want to show as much solidarity to the company as possible," said Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235. (More...)
Company spokeswoman Renee Rogers would not disclose specifics of the company's proposal. (More...)
The company had a 100-day supply of the Lucerne. (More...)
The days of earning $28 an hour for driving a vehicle off the assembly line or putting the finishing touches on an engine are gone for the next generation of General Motors Corp. factory workers. (More...)
Despite the poverty rations of a $200 a week strike pay, workers have demonstrated enormous solidarity, determination and self-sacrifice. (More...)
In addition to locations in the United States (Michigan, New York, Ohio and Indiana), AAM also has offices or facilities in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Thailand and the United Kingdom. (More...)
Wendy Thompson, the retired ex-president of UAW Local 235, said that workers may organize an informational picket at the testing facility. (More...)
The Parma factory employs about 1,600 hourly workers. (More...)
GM is making plans to sell the Chevrolet Malibu, a sedan made in Kansas and Michigan, and possibly other U.S. -made passenger cars in Brazil and other Latin American markets, GM executives have said. (More...)
Negotiations are progressing slowly, King said. (More...)

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"We want to show as much solidarity to the company as possible," said Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235. The local talks raised the possibility that the four plants at issue in the negotiations would see different wages based on their respective cost structures, which would have fragmented the national contract that covers most of American Axle's U.S. factories and one of the few national deals remaining among auto suppliers. The UAW and American Axle launched their first bargaining session in a month on Wednesday aimed at ending a strike in which 3,650 workers walked off jobs at four American Axle plants in Michigan and New York. Local negotiations on issues such as work rules typically take place after a national contract is reached. [1] American Axle, which made $37 million last year, is trying to get the same concessions as the UAW gave to parts companies that were in bankruptcy, Alford said. It has modern equipment and factories that are more productive than competitors, he said. "They're taking advantage of the other automotive industries not doing well," Alford said. As negotiations continued on Friday, David Gregory, professor of labour law at St. John's University Law School in New York, said it's clear the UAW is trying to pull GM into the dispute because GM would have been hurt even without strikes at its own plants. "This is a very deliberate part of the UAW game plan," Gregory said, adding that GM can put pressure on both sides and could even end up at the bargaining table. "That may be what it takes, for GM to come in and help broker an agreement," he said. American Axle has said its U.S. total hourly labour cost of $73.48 per worker is three times the rate at its domestic competitors and too high for it to win new business. Union officials say they don't make near that amount, which they say includes retiree health care and other non-wage items.[2]

Although many thought it ended the threat of union unrest, the acrimony it avoided is now showing up in a six-week-old dispute between the UAW and a key GM parts supplier - a spat that is threatening to hit GM's hot-selling products at a time the world's largest automaker can least afford it. About 3,600 UAW workers at five American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. plants in Michigan and New York left their jobs Feb. 26 in protest of the company's quest for deep wage and benefit cuts.[2] By the early 1980s the UAW had abandoned any pretense of waging a struggle against the employers and openly embraced the outlook of corporatism. Its officials claimed that the class struggle had been superceded by the struggle of American industries against their economic rivals in Japan, Germany and elsewhere. The union promoted Buy American campaigns, flag-waving chauvinism and anti-Japanese racism in an effort to convince workers that the enemy they faced was not the corporate billionaires but foreign workers who were supposedly stealing American jobs. This was not just an American phenomenon. In the face of globalization of capitalist production, all the nationally based trade unions - including the Canadian Auto Workers, IG Metall in Germany, the British TUC - have been transformed from organizations that placed pressure on employers to increase wages and benefits into organizations that pressure their members into accepting concessions to attract investment. I've spent some time reviewing these past experiences because the way forward for American Axle workers and the working class as a whole must be drawn out of a critical assessment of the failed and false policies of the trade unions. New organizations of the working class are required - but they must be based on a diametrically opposed strategy. American Axle's Dauch declared last week that he was prepared to move production from the four strikebound plants to Mexico if workers did not accept huge wage and benefit cuts.[3] Many of the Bushouse family's creature comforts could soon disappear. This is a union household, whose patriarch, Kevin Bushouse, is one of about 750 employees of United Auto Workers Local 2093 who walked off the job seven weeks ago on strike against proposed cuts in wages and benefits by their employer, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. "We're not doing that bad right now, but if this strike continues into May, we could start to be in pretty rough shape,'' Bushouse said.[4] D ETROIT -- The United Auto Workers union presented a broad contract proposal to American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. Wednesday that counters the company's demands to cut employees' combined wages and benefits by more than half.[5]

DETROIT, April 10 (Reuters) - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) said on Thursday a contract proposal from the United Auto Workers was a slight improvement, but still not market competitive and talks aimed at ending the union's six-week strike at the company's U.S. plants would continue.[6] DETROIT (Reuters) - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) delivered a new proposal to the United Auto Workers union on Friday as the company and union continued talks aimed at reaching an agreement to settle a six-week strike at five U.S. plants.[7]

DETROIT, April 12 (UPI) -- Talks aimed at ending the contract strike by union workers at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. are to continue through the weekend, the Detroit company said. The auto parts maker this week rejected a contract offer by United Auto Workers union negotiators, saying it lacked concessions needed to end the stalemate, which has idled some General Motors plants because of parts shortages.[8]

DETROIT (AP) - When General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers signed a new four-year contract last year, both sides lauded it as historic collaboration that cut labor costs to save the U.S. auto industry from ruin. SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - American Axle & Manufacturing said late Friday it has reached agreements with unions representing its employees in England, Mexico and Scotland.[9] A statement from American Axle says contracts talks continue. "Although it was a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions, the all-in labor cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200 percent of the market rate of AAM's (American Axle's) competitors in the United States automotive supply industry," the company said in its statement. American Axle says it "needs a structural change in labor costs at its original U.S. locations that is comparable to the agreements the UAW has previously made with AAM's competitors." UAW members say they can't afford the cuts the parts maker has proposed.[10] Detroit-based American Axle said "the all-in labor cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200 percent of the market rate of AAM's competitors in the United States automotive supply industry." The company reiterated it needs a structural change in labor costs at its original U.S. locations that is comparable to the agreements the UAW has previously made with competing auto parts suppliers. If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, AAM will be forced to consider closing these facilities, the company said.[11]

A UAW spokesman did not return a message to comment. American Axle repeated previous assertions that it needs substantial changes in the labor cost structure at its "original" plants, which includes its plants in the Town of Tonawanda and Cheektowaga. It reiterated the risk it says those plants face absent such an agreement. "If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, will be forced to consider closing these facilities," the company stated. It already idled a production plant in Buffalo late last year. American Axle has previously said that it wants to reduce its labor costs sharply, to bring them in line with competitors like Delphi Corp. and Dana Corp. The company again said it has "no desire" to close the U.S. plants, preferring to reach a deal with the UAW.[12]

The company stressed that the renewed negotiations, which follow a private meeting on Monday between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle CEO Dick Dauch, need to address the contract's primary economic issues, on which little progress has been made. The company's "expectation is that the return to the table by the UAW team signals their desire to bargain in good faith on the critical issues that we need to discuss," said American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers. Those issues include labor costs, layoff pay, attrition programs, cash payments in exchange for lower wages and job security. Taking those issues to the local level in the context of a national contract is something unions try to avoid because it can be seen as a way to divide the membership, said Harley Shaiken, a labor expert at the University of California at Berkeley. "In general it's something that a union would certainly prefer not to do because it does undermine its national presence and makes it more vulnerable to one local fighting against another for available jobs," he said. In the case of American Axle's latest talks, it's unclear if the company approached the locals or if it was the other way around.[1] The walkout began in late February when the auto parts maker proposed a new contract that would slash the UAW members pay by about $13 an hour and cut other benefits. Contract talks resumed earlier this week and by late Wednesday the UAW submitted an offer that American Axle has since rejected. In a statement issued Thursday night, the company said the union's offer was only a slight improvement and still twice as high as wages and benefits paid by its competitors.[13] THREE RIVERS (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - The UAW gave American Axle a proposal to end the seven week strike on Wednesday. American Axle says it was still twice the amount its competitors were paying their workers. The company did admit this is the best offer from the United Auto Workers they've seen so far, butAmerican Axle is insisting that it must cut wages and benefits to stay competitive. The company also says if it cannot, it may close its plants, including the plant in Three Rivers.[14] 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 the company seeks. That has caused a parts shortage, forcing General Motors Corp. to close or curtail work at 29 factories, including one in Arlingt (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.[15] T (AP) -- General Motors Corp. shut down a Detroit area sedan plant Monday, a sign that a strike by supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. is cutting deeper into GM's lineup and into the larger auto industry. GM said it shut down its Hamtramck Assembly Plant, which employs 1,849 hourly workers and makes the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS. It is the 29th plant GM has fully or partially shut down because of parts shortages due to the monthlong strike, which has affected just over 39,000 GM hourly workers. Previously the strike had affected only plants that assemble or supply parts for slow-selling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, and GM had said the strike wasn't having much impact because it had such a large inventory of those vehicles.[16] DETROIT (Reuters) - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (AXL.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) on Thursday rejected a United Auto Workers contract proposal as uncompetitive and said talks aimed at ending a six-week strike at five U.S. plants would continue.[17] DETROIT (AP) - American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said Thursday night a new contract proposal from the striking United Auto Workers is a "slight improvement" but falls far short of the deep concessions the company needs to compete in the auto parts business. "If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, AAM will be forced to consider closing these facilities," the company said in a news release.[18]

DETROIT (AP) - A local union official says the United Auto Workers has given American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings a proposal dealing with economic issues as formal negotiations aimed at ending a six-week strike resumed. UAW Local 235 President Adrian King said he could not give details of the proposal.[19] DETROIT (AP) - Negotiations have resumed between American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and the United Auto Workers union in efforts to end a six-week strike at the auto parts maker. American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers says full bargaining teams for both sides began talking this morning and continued into the afternoon.[15] American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. offered the United Auto Workers union a new labor proposal on Friday as workers continue a six week strike.[20]

AAM negotiators and the United Auto Workers union (UAW) in the United States met at the bargaining table for the first time in more than three weeks on April 9. "It's positive that both sides are back at the table after seven weeks," said Chris Buckley, president of CAW Local 222. "It's a step in the right direction. Regardless of the outcome of talks GM of Canada said its Oshawa truck plant will begin operations for three weeks starting April 21 while a sister plant in the U.S. shuts down. This will allow its Axle parts normally used in its Suburban plant to be shipped to the Canadian plant which makes the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra. At the bargaining meeting this week, the UAW presented a new economic proposal to AAM that the company was not impressed with.[21] American Axle & Manufacturing has turned down a proposal from the United Auto Workers, saying it was "not market cost competitive." American Axle said in a statement that the union's proposal, made during the resumption of talks between full bargaining teams this week, "is still approximately 200 percent of the market rate of AAM's competitors in the United Sates automotive supply industry."[22] Negotiators for the United Auto Workers have reportedly submitted a proposal to American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) on pay and benefits, in a sign that the union is moving quickly to shut down the nearly seven-week-long strike and impose the bulk of the company's wage-cutting demands.[23] A proposal from the United Auto Workers seeking to end a seven-week strike against American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. was turned down by the company.[11] 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.[24] Shares of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. rose Thursday, a day after union officials gave the auto supplier a proposal dealing with economic issues and formal negotiations aimed at ending a six-week strike resumed. Union officials would not disclose details of the proposal late Wednesday, saying that they were waiting for a response from the company.[25] Without progress in that time, the warnings said, the locals would issue official strike notices telling GM there will be a walkout within five days if there's not a deal. Such tactics are common during contract times. Stakes are especially high this year, with GM struggling mightily amid a weak economy, an anemic U.S. auto market and dealing with the six-week old American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. strike, which has slowed or halted production at 30 GM factories.[26]

With that issue resolved, leaders at the locals threatening to strike have said negotiators are struggling with issues including job guarantees for workers and plant work rules. GM already is dealing with production woes as work a strike at American Axle stretches into its sixth week.[27] It is funny that AAM is using salary people to run the plants that all of the union workers are striking at. Funny thing is they are producing 3 times as much product on particular lines with a tenth of the people. I guess this only shows how lazy the union workers really are and points out that they want more for less. They will all be out of a job soon and they are to blind to see it. The AAM Ohio plants already make the lower wages and they survive just fine and will galdly take your work. I read recently that American Axle has started to build in Mexico so they can continue to furnish products during this strike and any other work slowdown caused by unions.[28] A message seeking comment was left with Magna. Around 3,600 UAW workers at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York walked off their jobs Feb. 26 in a wage and benefit dispute.[16] On Feb. 26, more than 3,600 workers at four UAW-represented American Axle plants walked off the job, saying the company didn't offer enough information to substantiate demands to cut wages in half and reduce benefits.[29] More than 3,600 workers at four UAW-represented American Axle plants walked off the job in February over complaints that the company wanted to cut wages and benefits without substantiating the need to do so. The Chicago Tribune reported American Axle said it has been paying workers $73.48 an hour in wages and benefits and is seeking a rate of $20 to $30, which they said is more in line with competitors.[8]

The union and the parts supplier on Monday agreed to resume full negotiations that were stalled for nearly a month while the two sides sparred over financial details and American Axle's demands for steep wage and benefit cuts. As first reported by Automotive News, GM resumed some production of full-sized pickup trucks this week in Indiana. It expects to resume some pickup production in Ontario for three weeks later in April, while idling full-sized SUV production at a Texas plant for the same period.[30] Bargaining between American Axle and the UAW was continuing Thursday. Union leaders told The Detroit News that they offered a broad proposal Wednesday that countered the company'''s demands to drastically cut workers''' wages and benefits.[31] American Axle issued a statement late Thursday saying that an economic proposal submitted late Wednesday by the UAW was only a "slight improvement" and still twice as high as wages and benefits paid to rival axle makers. The company said its "proposed buyouts and buy-downs will provide its associates and families a financial cushion and soft landing during the transition to a new U.S. market competitive labor cost structure."[32] Resumption of the talks spurred optimism that headway could be made. Late Thursday, American Axle said in a statement that the UAW's offer this week was disappointing and not competitive. Those words showed the two sides still have critical obstacles to overcome. The company is looking to cut its total hourly labor costs, which include wages and benefits, by about half.[33] The company contended the "all-in" labor costs proposed by the UAW were "still approximately 200 percent of the market rate of competitors in the United States automotive supply industry." American Axle did not disclose specifics of the union's offer, which was presented this week after the two sides resumed talks with full bargaining teams.[12]

UAW members went on strike against American Axle six weeks ago, causing parts shortages that have closed or curtailed work at 29 factories in Canada and the U-S, as well as a Hummer plant. American Axle said labour costs under the union's proposal are a "slight improvement'' but remain about twice those at the company's competitors.[34] Some 3,650 UAW-represented workers at American Axle went on strike February 26 at five U.S. plants. "If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, (American Axle) will be forced to consider closing these facilities," the company said in a statement.[17] The UAW contract signed last fall added assurance that exporting from U.S. plants could be viable, said Michael Robinet, an analyst at Northville, Mich., consulting firm CSM Worldwide. The combined effects from a falling dollar and the new UAW labor contract "make the U.S. a low-cost country" similar to China and Brazil, he said. It also offloads billions of dollars in retiree health-care liabilities hobbling the Big Three to outside trust funds. To stay competitive, Toyota has stopped pegging its wages to UAW rates when it builds new plants, company executives said. It won't cut wages of current workers, but new hires will be paid no more than 50 percent above the prevailing manufacturing wage in the area where a plant is, they said. Exporting a large number of U.S.-made cars could go a long way in helping the Big Three turn around their unprofitable North American operations. It could also help them tap faster-growing overseas markets, especially at a time when U.S. sales have been hit by economic worries.[35] American Axle has plants in Mexico, Brazil, Europe and Asia. The company has said its U.S. hourly labor cost of $73.48 per worker is three times the rate at its domestic competitors and too high for it to win new business.[18] American Axle, formed from parts plants sold by GM in 1994, wants to cut the labor costs to $20 to $30 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 Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.[18] Even among the plants involved in the strike, wage structures differ. Before the strike, American Axle gave negotiators a list of plants, including those in New York and Three Rivers, that it would idle if the company were unable to lower its labor costs.[1] American Axle says if the union consents to the type of labor structure the company wants, the U.S. plants will be able to bid competitively for new business and attract new investment. The strike is in its seventh week.[12] The UAW issued letters Thursday warning that it could strike at three GM plants in Michigan in what may be a union effort to draw GM's attention to the labor dispute at American Axle.[18] The United Auto Workers union has set a hard deadline to strike three Michigan General Motors Corp. factories if the two sides aren't able to agree on local labor pacts, the company said Thursday. The union notified GM of its intention to issue five-day notices, which are required before a walkout, to the automaker's Flint truck assembly plant, the Delta Township assembly plant near Lansing and a Warren transmission plant.[36] Detroit (WWJ/AP) -- Three General Motors plants could be the targets of a strike by the United Auto Workers union. The automaker says the UAW sent them strike notices for plants in Flint, Warren and suburban Lansing, giving a five-day warning for a walkout. The UAW and GM reached a national contract agreement last fall, but local plants negotiate their own agreements on overtime and work rules.[37] The United Auto Workers union has told General Motors Corp. that it will strike three of the automaker's plants in five days if the union and automaker are unable to strike local contracts, the company said today.[27]

General Motors Corp. has struck a tentative agreement with one of five United Auto Workers union locals that had threatened a strike against the automaker.[26]

Prior to the strike, the company proposed taking production wages from about $27 an hour to $14.50 an hour. Despite the renewal of talks this week, Wendy Thompson, former president of UAW Local 7672, was cautious Thursday evening. Although she had not spoken with negotiators Thursday, Thompson said she viewed Monday's meeting between American Axle CEO Dick Dauch and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger as a bad sign because Dauch continued to push for wage rates of about $14 an hour. Thompson said she doubts there will be a settlement unless former owner and biggest customer General Motors Corp. applies more pressure on American Axle to reach a settlement.[32] Talks between American Axle and the UAW had largely stalled for a month while the sides wrangled over financial details and company demands for steep cuts in wages and benefits. Their resumption earlier this week was seen as somewhat of a breakthrough.[7]

The company says it has offered buyouts for the UAW workers or to provide annual cash payments to current workers to cushion the blow of a shift to lower wages and benefits. Separately, American Axle said it reached agreements with the unions representing its workers in England, Mexico and Scotland.[7] American Axle said it has offered buyouts for UAW workers who would prefer to leave the company, or annual cash payments to workers who accept lower wages and benefits to cushion the blow of steep labor cost concessions.[17]

About 3,600 workers at five American Axle (NYSE: AXL) plants struck on Feb. 26 when negotiations on a new contract broke down over wages and benefits.[11] American Axle officials are calling a new contract proposal from striking workers an improvement but not good enough. The workers have been on strike for six weeks now, hoping to keep their wages and benefits where they are.[28]

The United Auto Workers present a new economic proposal to American Axle in an effort to end a nearly six week old strike.[38] The United Auto Workers has given American Axle a proposal dealing with economic issues, as a strike against the company continues.[39]

More than 3,000 American Axle workers represented by the United Auto Workers at plants in Michigan and New York have been on strike since late February.[40] Now in the seventh week of the American Axle strike, more than 3,600 workers and their supporters at five plants in Michigan and New York are still holding strong.[41]

Some 3,600 UAW members at five American Axle plants in Michigan and New York went on strike February 26th to protest pay and benefit cuts.[42]

About 3,600 workers at plants in Michigan and New York are off the job. Another issue that still needs to be resolved is a new local labor contract at Lordstown. GM and the UAW agreed to a national contract on pay and benefits last year, but many plants still don'''t have agreements on local issues, such as work rules.[31] GM reached a new national labor contract with the UAW last year that covers wages and benefits. The auto maker still is hammering out local deals that cover plant-specific issues such as work rules and seniority.[43]

GM remains in talks with union leaders at four other plants where it received notices from UAW locals, Flores said. Those plants are in Warren, Flint, Lansing-Delta Township; and in Arlington, Texas. GM reached a four-year national contract with the UAW last year, but has yet to reach local agreements with most of the more than 70 union locals representing individual facilities on issues such as work rules.[30] The notices give a five-day warning for a possible strike. The UAW and GM reached a national contract agreement last fall, but local plants negotiate their own agreements on overtime and work rules. GM spokesman Dan Flores wouldn't say what issues must be settled at the plants, but he said GM will continue negotiations.[44]

The tentative agreement was reached with UAW Local 1005, which represents more than 1,300 hourly workers at a plant in Parma, Ohio, that has been partly idled by the American Axle strike, GM spokesman Dan Flores said.[30] GM spokesman Dan Flores would not comment about a possible link between American Axle and the strike threats. "We're going to continue focusing on bargaining, and we certainly want to reach tentative agreements as soon as we can," he said. Messages were left for a UAW spokesman at its Detroit headquarters. Chaison said American Axle's rejection of the union proposal and the threat to move production elsewhere shows this dispute is far different from those of the past.[2] Far, the strike hasn't affected GM much because truck-based vehicles aren't selling. American Axle also makes brake parts for GM cars, and analysts and union leaders have said shortages of those could cut production of the Chevrolet Cobalt small car and the mid-sized Chevrolet Malibu in a few weeks.[2]

The company was not making public details of the proposal, said American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers. Negotiations are expected to continue through the weekend, she said. The Detroit-based auto parts supplier had rejected a union proposal this week, calling it "disappointing."[12] The proposal came on Wednesday, the first day of formal negotiations between the union and the company since March 10, and follows a private between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle CEO Richard Dauch. The union kept the details of their proposal secret from the 3,650 striking workers in Michigan and New York, saying they were awaiting a response by the company.[23] American Axle & Manufacturing has presented a new contract proposal to the United Auto Workers after turning down an offer made by the union.[12] The United Auto Workers has given American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. a proposal dealing with economic issues.[15] American Axle & Manufacturing says an economic proposal it received from the United Auto Workers in talks Thursday, April 9 was not "market-cost competitive."[10]

H2 workers get unemployment plus supplemental benefits from the union to get by. '''It's not quite a full work week paycheck, but it's not bad,''' explained Crane. '''It's doable if you watch what you're doing." One worker who was also laid off from the H2 plant told WSBT off camera that she won't start worrying until they hit the year mark. He points to the continued talks between American Axle and the union.[28] GM is using American Axle's plant in Mexico to supply axles to the pickup truck plants. American Axle has said total wages and benefits run more than $70 per hour, about three times higher than its rivals, and it will be forced to close the five striking plants if it cannot obtain concessions from the union.[30] Last night, American Axle rejected the union's latest wage proposal. The company responded by saying that if the union "continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals," it will have to consider closing its plants.[42] The president of the UAW local at one of American Axle's Detroit plants said the union was awaiting the company's response and declined to disclose details of the offer, the newspaper said.[45] Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235, which represents workers at American Axle's Detroit plants, declined to disclose details of the offer.[5]

Just when I thought there was hope for Michigan, the mail arrived. "As the corruption and greed in our country spirals out of control, the middle class is on the verge of extinction," read a letter from UAW Local 140 to members of the Warren union urging them to rally in support of striking American Axle workers.[46] In return for abandoning the hard-won gains of the Big Three auto workers, the UAW was handed control of a VEBA retiree health-care trust fund worth $52 billion - much of it paid in GM and Ford stock, making the union potentially the largest shareholder in the auto companies. This would a betrayal of everything for which American Axle workers have fought and sacrificed.[3] The walkout by the United Auto Workers union, which started Feb. 26, involves about 3,650 workers at five American Axle plants - including 510 at the Tonawanda forge plant and Cheektowaga machining operation.[45]

The strike by American Axle workers, which today is 45 days old, is the longest walkout by U.S. auto workers since the 54-day strike by General Motors workers in Flint in 1998 and prior to that, the longest since the 67-day strike by GM workers in 1970.[3] The strike by 3,600 American Axle workers has caused General Motors Corp. to close or curtail work at 29 factories. The crucial holiday-shopping season didn't bring much cheer to Circuit City Stores Inc., but its cost-cutting efforts helped the struggling electronics retailer swing a profit for its fiscal fourth quarter.[47]

The UAW called the protest after American Axle published a classified ad in The Oakland Press of Pontiac Sunday looking for workers. The company said it only wanted workers to fill in for anticipated openings once current workers take buyouts, but the ad also said applicants could be asked to work "in place of employees involved in this strike." Rogers said Monday she didn't know if the company had had any applicants.[16] BUFFALO (2008-04-11) The strike against American Axle is effecting 500-of the company's workers at plants in the Town of Tonawanda and Cheektowaga and another 3,600 at 4-plants in Michigan.[13] He'''s one of 400 H2 workers that were laid off. The American Axle strike has impacted 29 plants that rely on their parts, and put thousands out of work.[28] Some 3,650 UAW-represented workers at American Axle went on strike Feb. 26 at five U.S. plants.[6] About 580 American Axle workers in the Buffalo area, including some who had been on layoff from the Buffalo plant, are on strike.[12]

GM's 2,400 truck plant workers and several hundred others from GM feeder plants like Automodular in Whitby and Lear Ajax have been laid off temporarily because of a shortage of parts from American Axle and Manufacturing (AAM).[21] The stalemate extends the shutdowns at General Motors Corp., the supplier's former parent and biggest customer. GM has shut or partially stopped production at 30 plants because of parts shortages since 3,650 America Axle workers in Michigan and New York walked off their jobs Feb. 26.[48] The jobs, according to a list of non-core assembly plant jobs obtained by The News, include unloading and distributing parts throughout the plant, managing paint and chemicals and driving finished vehicles. Included in the list are assembly jobs that long ago were outsourced by much of the industry, such as putting the tire and wheel together, piecing together the front and rear suspension and assembling the vehicle's console and dashboard. "They're very critical parts of the business in terms of making an automobile, but GM has refined their systems in such a way that it's pretty automated," said manufacturing expert Laurie Harbour-Felax, managing director and auto industry adviser at Stout Risius Ross Inc. "These are all jobs that automakers would ultimately like to send to the outside, and a lot already have." Only new hires would earn the lower wages, which also come with less generous medical and retirement benefits than those given to existing employees. Veteran workers who have jobs that fall into the non-core category will keep their wages and benefits. Many factory jobs will keep their standing as top-paid, such as welding, building core parts for cars and trucks and acting as team leaders on the line.[49] Raymond McAneel works at GM's plant in Shreveport, La., in the paint mix room. A 24-year veteran of the plant, he'll never make the lower wage, but frets that the future workers doing his job will. He has to judge the temperature and thickness of paint that's sent to the line and also sometimes drives a forklift, moving 500-gallon vats of paint. "It's going to take years for these changes to take place," he said.[49]

The non-core work is desirable because it involves less strenuous labor and is free from the time pressures of keeping up with the line. Such jobs are often snapped up by long-timers who have come to see the assignments as a reward for decades of hard labor on the line. "We need to make sure to have jobs workers can do when they get older," said Chris "Tiny" Sherwood, president of UAW Local 652 in Lansing, where GM builds several Cadillac models. Sherwood said several jobs on the list, such as attaching the tire and wheel, are done by robots at many plants. He said about 190 of the Lansing plant's 2,400 hourly jobs will become non-core under the labor deal. "Some of the jobs surprised me, some didn't," he said. "Some of them are pretty tough jobs.[49] The 42-year-old Lordstown assembly plant had been considered a candidate for closing because of high UAW labor costs. GM's president and chief operating officer, Frederick Henderson, said in an e-mail that several of GM's recently redesigned models have "gotten great acceptance in the U.S. and we believe it has significant potential in many other markets globally, and we are looking at such opportunities." The "more competitive U.S. dollar improves export competitiveness and potential profitability," he said. Chrysler had been using a contract manufacturer to assemble minivans for sale in Europe, but it chose not to extend the deal beyond 2007, and this year started exporting to Europe the Dodge Caravan minivan - branded Chrysler Voyager in Europe - made in a plant near St. Louis, a company spokeswoman said. It is also exporting increasing numbers of compact Dodge and Jeep models made in Belvidere, Ill., to several European countries. This year, more than 15,000 have been exported, up about 40 percent from the year-earlier period. Chrysler still has its bigger Jeeps made in Europe but is looking at moving that production to its U.S. plants when the Jeep contract with its European manufacturer, Magna Steyr AG, expires in 2009, a person familiar with the matter said.[35] Last year's landmark labor deals and the weak dollar are breathing new life into U.S. auto plants, leading Detroit's automakers to plan sizable exports of U.S.-made vehicles to markets around the world. General Motors Corp. wants to export U.S.-made vehicles to Europe, China, and Latin American markets such as Brazil, company executives confirmed.[35]

GM has only a 40-day inventory of Buick Enclave crossovers made at the plant, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. "The UAW is putting pressure on General Motors to put pressure on American Axle to modify its proposal by going after the more profitable plants," Chaison said.[2] American Axle is a key supplier for General Motors, which has halted or curtailed production at 29 plants because of parts shortages.[42] The strike at American Axle has shuttered or hampered production at 30 General Motors Corp. parts and assembly operations.[30]

If the UAW locals strike, it could take down even more production at GM, which already is dealing with the effects of the American Axle strike.[43] Local and regional UAW officials from the Buffalo area are in Detroit where negotiations resumed this week in the deadlocked seven-week strike against American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.[45] GM, though, isn't saying what issues are still unsettled. The UAW may be trying to draw GM into its negotiations with American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc., a major GM supplier.[37] A message seeking comment was left with the UAW. The UAW may be trying to draw GM into its negotiations with American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc., a major GM supplier.[44]

The last year of bargaining, which resulted in short national strikes against GM and Chrysler LLC and an ongoing stoppage at parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., has been anything but routine.[36]

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.[24] If the auto industry is to be run for the good of society, it must be transformed into a publicly owned enterprise and integrated into a planned socialist economy. Such a program is anathema to the big business politicians in both parties. It is significant that neither Clinton nor Obama has uttered a word about the longest auto strike in a decade. - despite their claims to support workers - both are beholden to big business, having received $1.1 million from the transportation sector, including auto executives from American Axle, GM, Ford and Visteon.[3] The result has been a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom upward into the pockets of the wealthy. The richest 1 percent of the population has more than doubled its share of the national income since 1980. American Axle's CEO Richard Dauch symbolizes this social type. He has pocketed more than $250 million after leading a group of private investors who took over GM axle and driveline operations in order to drastically lower labor costs. Standing behind Dauch are the billionaire Wall Street investors who control the various private equity firms and vulture funds, such as Cerberus and Blackstone. They are demanding from the world auto industry, which averages a 5 percent return on investment, the rates of return they receive through various forms of financial manipulation, that is, closer to 22 percent.[3] American Axle has said it would be forced to consider closing the five striking plants, which are located in Michigan and New York, if it cannot obtain labor cost cuts that would let it bid competitively for new business and make plant improvements.[7] "Although it was a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions, the all-in labor cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200 percent" of competitors' pay rates, the company's statement said. American Axle said it has offered "generous buyouts" for those who don't want to work if their pay is sharply cut.[18] "The all-in labor cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200% of the market rate of AAM's competitors in the United States automotive supply industry," American Axle said.[20] According the American Axle's website, although it was a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions, "the all-in labour cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200 per cent of the market rate of AAM's competitors in the United States automotive supply industry."[21]

April 10, 2008 -- Negotiators representing American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM) and the UAW met at the bargaining table for the first time in over three weeks on April 9, 2008. At this meeting, the UAW presented a new economic proposal to AAM.[50] UAW negotiators involved in contract talks at American Axle & Manufacturing plan to stay in town for about two weeks, not only to signal that the full team will be ready to meet at any time during renewed talks, but also as a strategic sign of solidarity.[1] Talks continued Thursday between the UAW and American Axle & Manufacturing in an effort to solve a strike that began Feb. 26, but the sides are still far apart.[32] Talks at American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. are slated to continue through the weekend, as the strike pushes through its second month.[29]

The strike's effects continue to hamper GM. While the auto maker has an ample supply of pickup trucks and SUVs, the primary vehicles for which American Axle is a supplier, the strike has started to affect GM's car production.[33] GM already is dealing with production woes from the work stoppage at American Axle, which has been on strike since Feb. 26.[36]

Analysts have questioned whether the local strike threats are a UAW ploy to draw GM into the American Axle dispute.[36] MISHAWAKA -- Hundreds of local workers laid off because of the American Axle strike are hoping the two sides come up with a contract soon.[28]

Thursday, American Axle said that a new contract proposal from the UAW was a "slight improvement'' but falls far short of the deep concessions the company needs to compete in the auto parts business.[37] The proposal was "a slight improvement," but the total cost remained about 200 percent above the market rate for American Axle's rivals in the U.S. auto parts sector, the company said.[17]

If the UAW "continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals," American Axle will be "forced to consider closing" U.S. facilities it considers non-competitive, the company said. Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or [email protected].[10] On Thursday evening the dispute escalated when American Axle rejected the UAW's latest wage proposal. A company statement said that if the UAW "continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, AAM will be forced to consider closing these facilities."[2] American Axle and the UAW appear far apart on key economic issues, but the company's proposal and the continued talks are a sign that the parties are at least working on the matter.[33]

The rejection rankled a local union official, who said the company doesn't want to budge. "It's disappointing that the company isn't willing to try to meet us half way," said Bill Alford, vice-president of UAW Local 235 at American Axle's Detroit complex.[2] With full negotiations resuming, it was reported yesterday that the union had given the company a new economic proposal. The essential content of this proposal was made clear in a column by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger published in the Detroit News April 4, in which he said the union was prepared to accommodate the legitimate concerns of the company and accept a contract that will mean real sacrifices by our members and real savings for the company. This can only mean that the UAW is willing to substantially agree to the company's demand to cut wages by more than half and gut pension and health-care benefits.[3] The company has offered buy-outs for associates and has also offered to make annual buy-down cash payments to associates who accept a competitive wage and benefits package. These proposals are similar to those that have been successfully used by Chrysler, Ford, GM and Delphi in recent agreements with the UAW. Mr. Buckley said he supports the UAW's unwillingness to bend to a two-tier wage structure and benefit cuts like those concessions made in negotiations with the Big Three automakers earlier this year. His union will be in negotiations with Canadian Big Three automakers this summer.[21]

AAM has also offered to make annual buy-down cash payments to associates who accept a competitive wage and benefits package. AAM's proposed buy-outs and buy-downs will provide its associates and families a financial cushion and soft landing during the transition to a new U.S. market competitive labor cost structure. These proposals are similar to those that have been successfully used by Chrysler, Ford, GM and Delphi in recent agreements with the UAW.[50] AAM expressed disappointment over the UAW's failure to make proposals that address the competitive reality AAM and its UAW-represented associates jointly face in the U.S. driveline marketplace. AAM needs a structural change in labor costs at its original U.S. locations that is comparable to the agreements the UAW has previously made with AAM's competitors in the United States automotive supply industry. If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, AAM will be forced to consider closing these facilities.[50] AAM has no desire to close the original U.S. locations. AAM's preferred approach is to reach an agreement with the UAW on a new U.S. market competitive labor cost structure for these facilities. If such a market competitive agreement is accomplished, these facilities will be able to bid competitively for new business and AAM will be able to continue investing in these operations.[50]

Company spokeswoman Renee Rogers would not disclose specifics of the company's proposal. The new offer, and continued meetings this weekend, come during the first session of talks in a month, and as the strike completes its seventh week. The supplier said Friday that it reached deals this week with unions representing hourly workers at its plants in Britain, Mexico and Scotland. The firm declined to provide specifics, but called the agreements "market-competitive," in their respective regions. [29] Plant-level 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. The UAW agreed to a second-level of lower paid workers as part of the new national agreement for those jobs considered not central to building an automobile.[27]

DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co., the United Auto Workers union and lawyers representing retired workers have reached a legal agreement to shift retiree health care costs from the company to a union-administered trust fund.[9] GM and the United Auto Workers union agreed to the two-tier wage structure as part of last year's landmark labor pact designed to save GM up to $5 billion a year.[49] The WSWS and SEP have called for the election of rank-and-file committees, led by trusted militants, to take the conduct of the strike and negotiations out of the hands of the UAW and to make an appeal over the heads of Solidarity House to Big Three workers in the U.S. to launch a national auto strike to overturn all the concessions granted by the UAW. A special appeal must be made to Canadian workers - who will be told this summer that they must make major sacrifices in order to compete against U.S. workers whose wages have been halved - as well as auto workers in Latin America, Asia and Europe, who are engaged in struggles against job-cutting and attacks on their living standards. It is impossible for workers to defend their interests through an organization hostile to their interests. The UAW is not a genuine workers organization, controlled by and accountable to those forced to pay dues to it. It is an organization dominated by an upper-middle-class layer of entrepreneurs who use union members as pawns in their negotiations, which are designed primarily to ensure the income and privileged lifestyle of the small army of union bureaucrats who control the UAW.[3] The United Auto Workers union is threatening strikes against three G-M plants in Michigan.[34] The new contracts with the United Auto Workers union signed last fall significantly improve the global competitive position of Big Three plants.[35]

The Detroit News reported that union bargainers presented a broad contract proposal to management that counters the company's demand to slash hourly workers' wages and benefits by more than half.[45]

"Combined with the weak dollar, we've got a contract that puts ourselves in a great position to ship products to other countries and do it making a profit," said Mike Herron, a UAW official at GM's assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., who is involved in negotiations with the company. Detroit's improved competitive position has sparked concern among foreign manufacturers, which do not use unionized U.S. workers.[35] Strikes at the GM plants would be based on local labor disputes. GM and the UAW reached a national contract agreement last fall, but local plants negotiate their own agreements on overtime and work rules. Associated Press Writer David Aguilar contributed to this report.[18] GM could be hurt even sooner if the UAW goes through with threatened strikes over local contract issues at the three plants.[2]

A UAW local has been on strike against that company since Feb. 26. Local union leaders have informed their members that the Lordstown plant could be shut down next week because of the parts shortage.[31] A fifth plant in Buffalo was idled at the end of 2007. The strike has dragged on in part because of the union's claim that the company has withheld financial data that would substantiate its demands for steep wage and benefit cuts.[32]

"The UAW is drawing the line in two-tiering and wages being cut in half with the American Axle folks. We support the position they are taking because in Canada when we go to bargain we are not going down the road of cutting our wages in half and taking benefits back from our members," said Mr. Buckley.[21] American Axle is trying to cut wages for labor workers from almost 50k a year to 30k a year.[28] A major turning point was the Chrysler bailout of 1979-80, when the UAW collaborated with the nearly bankrupt company and the Democratic Carter administration in inflicting concessions that would over the course of a few years wipe out 60,000 jobs and cut wages by $10,000 per worker.[3] The two sides agreed to a mixed approach. Until 2012, senior workers can bid on non-core jobs and keep their salary, and new hires who would have been assigned to those duties will be sent to the line at the lower wage level, according to UAW local presidents and sources familiar with the deal.[49] Challenges remain. The companies must figure out how to meet demand in an array of countries without breaking their limited budgets. The concept could still fizzle if they can't entice enough current workers to accept buyouts or early retirement deals to open jobs for new hires who would get lower wages and benefits. Both Chrysler and Ford have gotten fewer takers than they had hoped for their buyout packages. Increasing exports also requires better access to overseas markets, especially in Asia where some countries lock out Detroit's vehicles while sending millions of cars to the United States. Russia, a big potential market for such vehicles as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, imposes heavy tariffs on imports.[35]

The Detroit News said, however, that job guarantees for workers and a deep reduction in the number of skilled-trades job classifications have been sticking points in the talks in Parma and four other plants where strike warnings were issued.[31] The UAW did not immediately answer requests for comment. The strike, now in its seventh week, involves 3,650 workers at four operating plants in Michigan and New York.[32] The strike by 3,600 workers in Michigan and western New York state is beginning to have a major impact on the auto industry. Precisely at this point, the United Auto Workers bureaucracy will seek to impose a rotten concessions contract on the workers.[3]

Earlier in the day, the union gave five-day strike notices to GM at three Michigan factories. "It just seems to be spreading," said Gary Chaison, a labour specialist at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "We're heading into some very difficult times for the UAW and the American auto industry."[2] Chaison and some industry analysts believe the union's strike threats at GM are a way of pulling the automaker into the American Axle dispute.[2]

The other two factories where strike notices have been issued are a Flint pickup truck assembly plant that already has been shut down by the American Axle strike, and a Warren, Mich., factory that produced more than 900,000 transmissions last year.[2] American Axle has said that while it was profitable last year, the plants in question have not been profitable for years.[33]

A market competitive agreement would allow the plants to bid competitively for new business and permit continued company capital investments, American Axle said.[17] American Axle workers walked off the job in late February. That includes about 580 workers at the Tonawanda and Cheektowaga plants.[51] Since American Axle supplies GM with key parts for trucks and SUVs, the action has shut down some 30 GM and allied plants, including the GM SUV assembly plant in Moraine, idling hourly production employees there.[10] 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.[24]

American Axle has other unionized plants in the U.S. not covered under the master labor contract.[33] The walkout has forced major customer General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research ), which accounts for about 80 percent of American Axle's revenue, to partly or completely idle some 30 plants in North America.[7] The strike also has forced General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research ) to at least partly idle 30 North American plants and thousands of hourly workers.[17] The strike has forced customer General Motors Corp. (GM) to idle all or parts of 30 plants.[33] Nyloncraft is another local plant impacted by the strike. They make parts for General Motors. Because so many GM plants had to be shut down, they too had to take action.[28] The strike has caused a parts shortage that has forced General Motors to close or curtail work at 29 factories. Several GM plants in Ohio have been among those affected.[19] 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.[25]

DETROIT -- Recent talks in a nearly seven-week-old strike that has shut down the Dayton area's only General Motors Corp. plant were inconclusive.[10]

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 United States and in Canada. King said he is optimistic about returning to bargaining. "I've got a thousand things running through my mind right now," he said.[24] The labor dispute has created a parts shortage that forced General Motors Corp. to close or suspend work at 29 factories and lay off thousands of workers in the United States and Canada.[45]

The resulting parts shortage has affected 29 GM factories and more than 39,000 workers. It also has curbed work at a Hummer plant run by AM General LLC, and it has hit other parts makers in the U.S. and Canada.[2]

Leaders at some of the locals threatening to strike have said negotiators are struggling with issues including job guarantees for workers and plant work rules.[36] "I saw the strike coming, so we started to plan for it.'' Every week, Kevin, 38, receives $200 in strike pay from the UAW, a far cry from the $1,400 he grossed per week while working as a job setter at the Three Rivers plant, where he's been for nine years. His wife, Anna, works as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic in town, bringing home much-needed income. Their current cash flow won't sustain them, given the family's needs, Kevin said.[4] About 400 workers at the H2 plant in Mishawaka have been off the job for more than five weeks now because of the strike.[28]

More than a dozen different jobs at GM assembly plants will soon get the title of "non-core," meaning new hires assigned to the tasks will receive about half the hourly pay of veteran workers on the line.[49] In the past few rounds of negotiations, GM has been pushing for fewer job classifications at plants, which allows plants to be more efficient because workers can perform more tasks.[31]

If there are no local deals at the end of five days, the UAW could extend the deadline and continue negotiating or send workers off the line. It was not clear exactly when that five-day period starts for each plant, but likely began either Thursday or today, depending on when the notices were delivered to GM.[36] UAW Local 846, which represents workers at the Town of Tonawanda and Cheektowaga plants, invited members and supporters to sign up to travel to the rally aboard chartered buses. "This rally will be used as the focal point of the current labor struggle in America today," UAW Local 846 leaders said in a letter to members.[12]

Separately, GM said on Wednesday it had reached a tentative agreement with one of five UAW local units at GM plants that have threatened to strike.[30] 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.[24] The union warned GM last week that it may strike five plants, including the three in Michigan.[36]

On Monday, GM confirmed it would restart pickup truck plants in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Oshawa, Ont., 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.[24] The strike has forced GM to stop or slow production at 30 factories in the United States and Canada. Most of those plants either build or produce parts for GM's slow-selling full-size trucks and SUVs. The Lansing factory builds GM's fast-selling crossover SUVs and the Flint factory makes full-size pickups and medium-duty trucks.[36]

GM said the UAW sent strike notices to the company Thursday for plants in Flint, Warren and Delta Township near Lansing.[44] A person with knowledge of the bargaining said the UAW gave the company notice that it could strike as early as Thursday at a factory near Lansing that makes GM's fast-selling new crossover vehicles.[2]

Wall Street investors bought up American Axle stock on Thursday in response to the news, anticipating that the strike is near an end and the company would get most of what it is asking for.[23] About 3,650 workers at American Axle, including roughly 580 in the Buffalo area, have been on strike since Feb. 26.[22] BUFFALO, NY (2008-04-11) American Axle has rejected the latest proposal from the United Auto Workers.[51] The UAW is gearing up for a rally in support of striking American Axle workers in Detroit next Friday.[12] The WSWS spoke to striking American Axle workers on the picket line in Detroit as the negotiations continued on Thursday.[23]

Negotiations are expected to continue through the weekend. The offer comes after American Axle said earlier this week that there had been a slight improvement in UAW's offer since the last time they negotiated, however American Axle still expressed "disappointment" over it.[20] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers declined to provide details of the proposal, but said the two sides were expected to continue full negotiations over the weekend.[7] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers confirmed that the company received a union proposal late Wednesday evening and that meetings will continue today. She did not comment further.[45] American Axle says the company had not received a proposal from the union but it expected to get one.[15]

The union delivered a new financial proposal to American Axle with the restart of talks on Wednesday.[7] The Detroit supplier has countered the union's last proposal, which American Axle on Thursday said did not include enough concessions to bring about progress in the talks.[29]

DETROIT, April 11, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), which is traded as AXL on the NYSE, announced today that it has reached agreements with the unions representing its associates in England, Mexico and Scotland.[52] SAN FRANCISCO (Thomson Financial) - American Axle & Manufacturing said late Friday it has reached agreements with unions representing its employees in England, Mexico and Scotland.[40]

Costgan and others strikers' spirits were lifted as a parade of about 300 UAW-represented Chrysler LLC workers visited American Axle union halls and the picket lines on Wednesday.[5] American Axle says it ran the ads primarily to create a pool of candidates, because it expects many workers to leave via buyouts or retirement packages after a new deal is in place. It has left open the possibility of using new hires as replacement workers. Rogers said she did not know if the applicant testing was under way yet in the Buffalo area.[12] American Axle workers are not only fighting CEO Richard Dauch but the entire capitalist economic and political setup in the U.S. and internationally, which subordinates the needs of working people to the ever greater accumulation of wealth by the super-rich.[3] Dozens of workers were picketing Monday outside American Axle's Detroit headquarters.[16] Frustration has mounted in recent weeks as strikers heard no word of progress. "It's a start," said Jason Costgan, an American Axle worker from Shelby Township.[5]

On April 10 the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party held a meeting at Wayne State University in Detroit to address the political issues involved in the American Axle strike, now in its seventh week.[3] I am sick and tired of the CRAP that Dick Dauch and American Axle is trying to dish to its employees and their families. I can'''t believe that this man has the nerve to sit there and offer insulting wages with insulting '''buy downs''' and '''buy outs'''. He should be ashamed of what he is putting our 3600+ families through. Let'''s not forget the other hundreds of thousands families that are being affected by this strike too.[50] American Axle supplies axles for Allison's A-1000 six-speed automatic transmission. The plant has 450 total employees; 380 of them earn hourly wages.[11]

Detroit newspapers reported American Axle has begun testing applicants in Michigan who responded to the company's recent advertisements for jobs.[12] Company spokeswoman Renee Rogers said American Axle countered the offer, but declined to disclose specifics of the company's proposal, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.[8]

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 the meeting Monday.[24] UAW Local 1112 in Lordstown has said that operations are threatened by a potential shortage of a brake spindle that is produced by American Axle.[31]

The UAW gave American Axle a proposal dealing with economic issues Wednesday, King said.[1] American Axle & Manufacturing has turned down a proposal submitted on 9 April by the UAW.[53] AAM should stand for 'American Axle Monarchy,' not American Axle & Manufacturing. He's like another Bush or Saddam Hussein - a dictator. I worked in the forge for 12 years before coming over to this part. It was horrible.[23] American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has begun testing a pool of potential job candidates now that it has collected more than 1,000 applications.[30]

The UAW maintains that American Axle, which posted a $37 million profit last year, can afford to pay more.[48] American Axle said in an update that the offer was "not market cost competitive" though "it was a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions." The offer was made April 9 as representatives from both sides returned to the table.[11] I'm not sure that applies to American Axle. They are so incredibly confrontational in this bargaining," he said. In its statement, American Axle said the UAW's offer was a slight improvement over previous positions, but still about 200 per cent of competitors' pay rates.[2]

For all the talk about the end of the class struggle and the post-industrial demise of the working class, the American Axle strike has demonstrated the potential power of the working class.[3] The auto maker has idled all or portions of 30 factories due to the American Axle strike.[43] Jerry White, who has written extensively on the American Axle strike, addressed the April 10 meeting. The following is an edited version of his report.[3]

Everybody knows American Axle makes a quality product. Look at all their contracts. It's just sad to see the Union feeding it's members a line of bull saying it has the upper hand and will take care of things.[28] During the period when talks stagnated over the past month, the union had said American Axle failed to provide enough details to evaluate the cost-cutting demands.[30]

American Axle chief Richard Dauch has warned that the company has the ability to move work now done in the U.S. to foreign factories.[18] American Axle makes propeller shafts for vehicles. Its principal customer is former owner General Motors. This article is copyrighted by International Business Times.[20] American Axle said it is offering "generous" buyouts and buy-downs for hourly workers.[33] American Axle wants to lower salaries to stay competitive in the auto parts industry.[28] American Axle has said that the UAW has agreed to similar terms at other suppliers, including competitor Dana Holding Corp. (DAN).[33] American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers confirmed the two sides plan to continue talking, but would not discuss specifics.[5] Spokeswoman Renee Rogers confirmed on Saturday that American Axle had submitted an offer but would not release details.[20]

American Axle said in a statement it would offer "generous" buyouts for employees willing to leave, as well as "competitive" compensation.[48]

GM accounts for 80 per cent of American Axle's business - mostly axles, drive shafts and stabilizer bars for large trucks and sport utility vehicles.[2] American Axle shares rose by 5.3 percent in morning trading, to $22.08.[23] American Axle is requesting that applicants test at a Detroit area high school.[30] American Axle's stock rebounded Thursday, along with much of the automotive sector.[32] It'''s a disgrace! AMERICAN Axle '''yeah, real American. I resent the fact that he is turning our lives upside down.[50]

The company had a 100-day supply of the Lucerne. Lache estimated Monday that the strike is costing GM $220 million per week, although he said GM would have had to cut production anyway due to the weak economy so it's difficult to gauge the precise impact. [16] Last week's UAW strike warnings gave GM five days to make progress in local talks.[26] Earlier yesterday, the UAW gave GM 5-day strike notices over local contract issues at three Michigan factories.[42]

The person did not want to be identified because negotiations are in progress. Even though the UAW and GM reached the national deal last fall, local factories negotiate their own agreements on overtime and work rules.[2]

In opposition to the right of Dauch and others to throw people out of work and slash wages, workers must assert the right to a decent job and home, the right to quality education, the right to health care, the right to social equality. The demand for these rights comes into immediate conflict with the anarchy of the private ownership of production. The past three decades have revealed the fraud of the UAW's claims that its labor-management teamwork programs gave workers a say-so in corporate decision making. That is impossible, as long as the factories remain in the hands of the capitalist owners and big investors. This fraud must be replaced with genuine industrial democracy, which is only possible by establishing workers' control over production.[3] After 2012, the wage rate will be divided strictly by the type of job. Workers at the lower wage have the opportunity to work into core jobs at the higher pay rate, though they'll never be eligible for the lifetime medical benefit and pension plan prized by today's workers. They'll receive payments into 401(k) accounts.[49]

GM chose to set wages based on job descriptions to avoid divisiveness that could arise between workers who have the same job but make dramatically different wages.[49]

Union leaders in Parma told the newspaper that GM wants to broaden the job descriptions of skilled trade workers.[31]

The more than six-week strike is now in danger of being defeated - not because of lack of solidarity or popular sympathy - but because of the deliberate sabotage of the leadership of the United Auto Workers union.[3] Company spokesperson Renee Rogers said the company is building a pool of temporary replacement workers "in anticipation of the buyouts and early retirements we expect" after the United Auto Workers ' two-month-old strike ends at the Detroit-based supplier.[30]

The strike has forced General Motors to idle some production lines and thousands of workers at 30-plants in North America.[13] The six-week strike has caused parts shortages that have closed or curtailed work at 29 General Motors Corp. factories, affecting about 39,000 hourly employees.[18] A parts shortage from that strike has forced 29 General Motors factories to shut down including several in Ohio.[38]

The days of earning $28 an hour for driving a vehicle off the assembly line or putting the finishing touches on an engine are gone for the next generation of General Motors Corp. factory workers. [49] The labor dispute has idled General Motors Corp.' s Powertrain Transmission plant in White Marsh.[11]

"The notion of setting wages nationally tends to strengthen the union because it avoids competition between plants," Shaiken said. He added, "there's always a temptation in a contract for plants to offer to cut their wages to keep their work."[1] Mexicans can and will work for what you call tip money. UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE. means we are getting wages cut (in a terrible economy) while the ceo of AAM gets over a million dollar raise off the hard work WE do! We aren't just fighting for our wages. we are fighting for all folks out there struggling to keep our jobs here and pay us ALL (you and me) FAIRLY. If you don't stand up for your rights. who will? Everyone should be concerned,,,we are all in it together!OUr jobs are leaving this country and they want to pay us less.[28]

"All of AAM's hourly associates at AAM de Mexico and our wholly-owned subsidiary Albion Automotive in the United Kingdom have union representation," said AAM Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Richard E. Dauch. "The recently signed agreements in Mexico and the United Kingdom achieved a market competitive labor cost structure in those regions where the facilities are located. This was all done quietly, professionally, responsibly and effectively with no production disruption."[52] Although it was a slight improvement from the UAW's previous bargaining positions, the all-in labor cost proposed by the UAW is still approximately 200% of the market rate of AAM's competitors in the United States automotive supply industry.[50]

Negotiations are continuing. AAM remains hopeful that the International UAW will soon put forward economic and operating proposals that will allow AAM to compete on a level playing field with its competitors in the United States automotive supply industry and maintain its manufacturing operations in the original U.S. locations.[50] "If the UAW continues to refuse to make realistic economic proposals, AAM will be forced to consider closing these facilities," the company said in a news release.[54] The move comes a day after the company criticized a UAW proposal. Company spokeswoman Renee Rogers also said negotiations are expected to continue this weekend.[33]

In a column published last week, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said the union had already made proposals that will mean real sacrifices by our members and real savings for the company.[23] The company gave the UAW more financial information last week at the union's request.[30]

The UAW is concerned that the applicants may be used for replacement workers for the strikers. Company testing of potential employees comes after UAW President Ron Gettelfinger met earlier this week with company CEO Richard E. Dauch.[30] The UAW collaborated with Iacocca and then-Chrysler Executive Vice President Richard Dauch to use the threat, real or otherwise, of plant closings to blackmail workers into accepting concessions to save the company.[3]

Lear spokeswoman Andrea Puchalsky said Lear isn't giving regular updates of how many plants and employees are affected, but at least 10 Lear facilities and 1,200 workers have been idled. Puchalsky said GM's Hamtramck plant is among those Lear supplies seats and other parts to.[16] A spokesperson said Friday that a handful of workers have been called back temporarily thanks to some activity at GM's Fort Wayne plant.[28]

The Lordstown plant has been threatened with shortages of parts from two sources. One of those threats is close to being resolved because of a tentative contract agreement reached at a GM plant in Parma.[31] The local units have threatened strikes at the GM plants over slow progress in completing the local details needed.[30] The WSWS and SEP fight for the strike to be taken out of the hands of the UAW through the formation of rank-and-file committees in every plant, the rejection of all concessions and the extension of the strike to the entire industry.[3] G-M says the U-A-W sent strike notices to the company yesterday for plants in Flint, Warren and Delta Township near Lansing.[34] Around 220 employees at the plant have been temporarily laid off as a result of the ongoing strike at the parts supplier.[11]

Not only in our country; but world wide. He seems to think that his '''buy downs''' and '''buy outs''' will be '''cushy and comfy''' for his employees. These figures must be enough to replace the 14 years my husband has in at your company, the fact that we have to completely start over somewhere else ''' without the same pay ''' and allow our families to keep our houses. In my opinion, this man will never offer enough for the damage that has already been done and the wrath we are about to endure. He smugly accepts a huge salary and bonuses while he threatens to close our plants because we aren'''t making a profit large enough. He fails to announce to the world that these 5 plants fund the off shore plants and the off shore plants rake in the profits. How do you expect my husband and his co-workers to produce enough to finance all of these operations? Meanwhile, he is taking machines out of my husband'''s plant and sending them to non-union plants.[50]

Art Wheaton of Cornell Labor Studies in Buffalo has been out on the local picket lines talking with striking workers. Wheaton says he is not surprised that the company said no to this latest offer.[51] Local 1005 President Tito Boneta said on Tuesday a key issue in the plant-level bargaining was that the company wanted to significantly broaden the job descriptions of skilled trade workers. The workers, who receive special training for narrowly defined tasks, typically have more seniority and higher hourly pay than their peers on the line.[26]

United Auto Workers Local 1005 in Parma plans to hold a vote on the agreement Sunday.[31] The United Auto Worker International and the local's bargaining teams will return to the bargaining table April 9.[41]

Never mind that blood hasn't been shed in decades, thankfully, but the ploy worked, as a few hundred United Auto Workers members showed up Wednesday to walk the picket line at the Detroit auto parts maker. They chanted and "stood strong."[46] For nearly 30 years the class struggle has been suppressed by the betrayals of the United Auto Workers and the AFL-CIO bureaucracy. Or to put it more precisely, the working class has been shackled as a class war has been prosecuted almost entirely by the other side.[3]

Some 350,000 GM workers walked out then and won a 30 percent increase in wages over three years, plus unlimited cost-of-living protection against inflation.[3] GM took a different approach than Ford Motor Co., which agreed with the UAW that 20 percent of factory jobs would fall into the second-tier wages, regardless of job description.[49] The approach resulted in months of hard bargaining between GM and the UAW as the sides haggled over which jobs would fall into each category.[49]

Scores more jobs at GM's powertrain, stamping and transmission plants will also receive the non-core designation.[49] These assembly plant jobs are considered non-core, but the list could vary by factory: material movement, general stores, chemical management, knitting and sequencing, finished vehicle driving, paint room mix, tire and wheel, engine dress, cockpit, front suspension, rear suspension, headliner, console and body shop subassembly.[49]

Chrysler LLC, primarily spurred by exchange rates, has already started shifting production from Europe to the U.S. to take advantage of lower costs and available plant capacity.[35] Toyota Motor Corp. is now pushing to lower labor costs in the U.S., people who are familiar with the matter said. Later this year, GM will begin shipping the Buick Enclave, a seven-passenger crossover sport utility vehicle made in Lansing, Mich., to China, where the Buick brand is a big seller.[35] UAW President Walter Reuther opposed the growing demands within the union for the building of a mass labor party, claiming that America was not a country where you had rigid class groupings, like England and other European countries. He insisted the unions would ally itself with the Democratic Party and compete with big business for its allegiance. On this basis he conducted an anticommunist witch-hunt and ruthless purge of the left-wing elements in the union, consolidating the UAW as a pro-capitalist trade union that would not impinge on the rights of private property and profit. Reuther's program was based on a fundamental lie: that the interests of the working class could be reconciled with those of corporate America. He bet the future of the working class on the permanent domination of U.S. industry, which had emerged from World War II as the most powerful economy in the global market, producing half of the world's industrial goods.[3] Last year UAW membership declined by 13.7 percent to 464,910, a loss of 73,538 members compared with 2006. The UAW has lost more than two-thirds of its membership since 1979, when membership peaked at 1.5 million. Nevertheless the union earned $75 million in interest on its investments last year, up from $59 million in 2006, and ended the year with $1.25 billion in assets, down slightly from $1.27 billion at the end of 2006. This process is the inevitable outcome of the subordination of the trade unions to the capitalist system and the national interests of corporate America. Politically, this takes the form of the UAW's fierce hostility to building a political party of the working class and its undying support for the Democratic Party.[3]

Buy-downs are lump-sum payments companies make to compensate for a lower hourly rate. The UAW has criticized a pay raise given to Dauch last year and said the cuts sought by the company are out of line given its executive compensation and the fact that the company was profitable in 2007.[33]

A campaign must be prepared now to mobilize opposition to reject any contract brought back by the UAW that contains wage cuts and other concessions.[3] From the outset of the strike the chief concerns of the UAW bureaucracy have been to (1) suppress the resistance of the rank and file to a concessions contract and (2) secure the interests of the Solidarity House bureaucrats.[3] The UAW presented the new contract offer on Wednesday as the two sides resumed full bargaining for the first time in a month.[17] Until the new contract was signed, auto labor in the United States was 50 percent more expensive than in France and Japan.[35] Union gives five-day notices of intention to walk out if local labor contracts aren't settled.[36] Donations, provisions and resolutions continue to pour into the locals' union halls. On April 5 in Hamtramck, Mich., a crowd of strikers and their labor and community allies marched from the center of town to the Local 235 and Local 262 union halls.[41]

The company and union haven'''t released details on the status of local talks in Lordstown.[31] A union official told The Associated Press late Wednesday that the union made a new economic proposal to the company, but didn't provide details.[30] The company issued a statement Friday saying the union's proposed deal was not cost competitive.[51] Last fall, Ford executives dangled a carrot to union negotiators, saying that exporting opportunities for UAW-built vehicles could increase with more competitive manufacturing costs, a person familiar with the matter said. Now, Ford is considering exporting its Ranger small pickup and Focus small car to places such as Brazil and Mexico when the economics make sense, another person familiar with the matter said.[35]

Many saw the establishment of industrial unions not as a goal in itself but the beginning of the political organization of the working class to challenge the profit system and fight for a socialist transformation. Very rapidly, however, the leaders of the newly formed UAW and CIO moved to curb this mass movement and prevent any revolutionary challenge to the economic and political supremacy of the capitalist class.[3]

WORLDWIDE AUTOMOTIVE REPORT PODCAST: Ford tells how it plans to cut greenhouse gases. GM settles with one of its local unions.[39] The strike could have more impact as it cuts into GM's car inventories. While sales of large sedans have been slow industrywide -- sales of both the Lucerne and the DTS were down 20 percent in the first two months of this year -- GM had only a 59-day supply of the DTS in February, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank, and has been counting on increasing sales in its revitalized Cadillac division.[16] "We're in an auto industry recession." That's little comfort to GM's other suppliers, who also are taking a beating due to the strike.[16] On Feb. 26, when the strike began, GM had as much as 150 days' supply of some pickups and SUVs, well over the 60-day supply considered healthy in the industry.[16]

Despite the poverty rations of a $200 a week strike pay, workers have demonstrated enormous solidarity, determination and self-sacrifice. [3] Current compensation: The supplier said it has been paying workers $73.48 an hour in wages and benefits and is seeking a rate of $20 to $30, in line with competitors.[48] The company said it has offered buyouts to workers who want to leave and buy downs to help with the transition to lower wages.[2] The company said the offer was a slight improvement, but would have still left the company with wages and benefits that are far higher than rival companies.[7] AAM has offered generous buy-outs for associates who do not wish to continue to work for AAM subject to a competitive wage and benefits package.[50]

In addition to locations in the United States (Michigan, New York, Ohio and Indiana), AAM also has offices or facilities in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Certain statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts contain forward-looking information with respect to the Company's plans, projections or future performance, the occurrence of which involves risk and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results or plans to differ materially from those expected by the Company which include risk factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. [52] The company also has told UAW officials that it is seriously considering building a future small car in Lordstown, Ohio, that would be exported to markets outside of North America, people familiar with the matter said. It would be one of five new vehicles being produced there near the turn of the decade, one of these people said.[35]

The two sides resumed formal negotiations Wednesday following a face-to-face meeting between company Chairman Richard E. Dauch and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger earlier in the week.[33] The resumption of talks came after a meeting Monday between UAW president Ron Gettelfinger and company CEO Richard Dauch.[24] The UAW and the company had no official talks scheduled Monday, spokeswoman Renee Rogers said. Talks have been continuing sporadically, but the two sides' full bargaining teams haven't met together since March 10, she added.[16] Company spokeswoman Renee Rogers said contract talks were expected to continue Friday.[18]

The proposal comes as the two sides met for formal talks for the first time since March 10. Full bargaining teams for both sides were expected to continue negotiations Thursday.[25]

The notices mean the union could strike in five days if it's not satisfied with the progress of talks.[43] The move at least temporarily puts an end to separate discussions between company and local union officials that took place in the month when formal bargaining had stalled and negotiators were in their hometowns.[1]

Factory committees - made up of production workers, along with engineers, technicians, accountants and other experts committed to the interests of working people - must take charge of all business decisions affecting work, safety, salaries, hiring and hours. The financial books of all corporations must be opened for inspection by the workers and management personnel selected on the basis of proven competence and a democratic vote of all employees, and their salaries limited to the level of skilled workers. The huge payouts for Dauch and other top executives must be frozen and the tens of millions they have squeezed out of the company returned.[3] We have the flexibility to source all our business to other locations around the world, Dauch told the Detroit Free Press, and we have the right to do so. In a fundamental sense, the corporate CEO does have the legal 'right' to shut his factories and devastate the lives and communities of workers and their families. The capitalist system is based on the private ownership of the means of production, on the institutionalized exploitation of workers, who are forced to sell their labor power.[3] The vital decisions on where to invest society's financial resources - the product of the labor of the working class - must be made democratically by the people, not behind closed doors by speculators and other financial parasites. To accomplish this workers must break with the Democrats and Republicans, shake off their prejudices about socialism, and build a powerful political movement, which aims at the revolutionary reorganization of social life to meet the needs of the vast majority on this planet, not a financial aristocracy that has demonstrated its inability to run society.[3]

Wendy Thompson, the retired ex-president of UAW Local 235, said that workers may organize an informational picket at the testing facility. [30] GM spokesman Dan Flores said Wednesday that GM and UAW Local 1005 in Parma, Ohio, have a deal pending ratification by the local's members.[26]

GM spokesman Dan Flores confirmed Thursday that the UAW notified the auto maker of the five-day notices.[43]

The Parma factory employs about 1,600 hourly workers. It's an important factory for GM in part because if provides components for the fast-selling Cobalt small car that's built in Lordstown, Ohio. [26] Changing classification means that new workers will earn half as much for many assembly jobs.[49] Doesn't that sound like an appropriate wage? If it doesn't, good news -- our country allows you to get an education and earn a job that pays more.[28]

There are now reports that the company is threatening to take jobs overseas if an agreement cannot be reached.[28]

In 1955, for example, Detroit was producing four out of five of the world's cars and Toyota was a small company producing 27,000 cars for the Japanese market. This perspective appeared to work from 1945 to 1970 as living standards rose sharply in contrast to the Depression and war years, and social inequality lessened. It all began to unravel with the revival of the Japanese and German economies and their challenge, not only in global markets, but in the U.S. market itself.[3] For years, workers have been told socialism was contrary to human nature. The market, we were told, was the most rational and efficient form of economic organization, which rewarded those willing to take risks and work the hardest.[3]

Summing up the ruling elite's contempt for production and for the working class, Ray Diallo, the founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, who made $350 million last year, said, The money that's made from manufacturing stuff is a pittance in comparison to the amount of money made from shuffling money around.[3] Jim, a toolmaker, has been at the plant since 1995. He said, Dauch made $10 million last year.[23] Spurred by the dollar, foreign automakers are also devoting more attention to the United States. BMW AG is pumping $750 million into its South Carolina plant to significantly expand U.S. output, much of which is earmarked for Europe.[35]

The Detroit News reported that the settlement was critical because the plant makes components for the cars made in Lordstown, the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5.[31] The auto parts supplier has two active plants locally, in the Town of Tonawanda and Cheektowaga.[22] I saw it over the weekend at an economics seminar I took part in that was sponsored by the University of Detroit Mercy. We talked about the issues this state and the auto industry face and what needs to be done to change our fortunes. For some, it's a matter of easing the excessive government intervention from Lansing and in Washington, D.C. For others, it's globalization and, specifically, the Chinese, says Paul Veryser, vice president of the Precision Metalforming Association. His group's members are being asked to match Chinese bid prices or lose business, and increasingly the latter is what's happening. It's not a Darwinian exercise. It's a public policy issue that requires real economic thought, not political posturing.[46]

GM is making plans to sell the Chevrolet Malibu, a sedan made in Kansas and Michigan, and possibly other U.S. -made passenger cars in Brazil and other Latin American markets, GM executives have said. [35] GM shares were up 38 cents to $19.06 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.[16]

Negotiations are progressing slowly, King said. The two sides are expected to return to the bargaining table this morning, continuing the first substantive negotiations in weeks in an attempt to end the 45-day strike. [5]

SOURCES

1. Solidarity seen in Axle talks | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
2. The Canadian Press: UAW strike could cut production of GM's hot-selling products
3. WSWS writer Jerry White speaks on American Axle strike
4. Striking families support each otherAfter seven weeks on strike, families of American Axle workers feel the pay cut- mlive.com
5. UAW makes pitch to end 45-day American Axle walkout
6. American Axle says latest UAW proposal falls short | Industries | Consumer Goods & Retail | Reuters
7. American Axle delivers new proposal to UAW | Reuters
8. UAW, American Axle continue labor talks - UPI.com
9. TFN NEWS BRIEFING: Aerospace and transportation highlights to 09:10 BST | Latest News | News | Hemscott
10. American Axle: UAW proposal 'non-competitive'
11. American Axle rejects UAW offer to end strike impacting GM's White Marsh plant - Baltimore Business Journal:
12. The Buffalo News: Business: American Axle presents new proposal to UAW
13. WNED: American Axle Rejects Contract Offer (2008-04-11)
14. Local News: American Axle Rejects Union Offer | american, three, axle - wwmt.com
15. American Axle, UAW resume talks to end 6-week strike
16. WSJM AM 1400 & FM 94.9 - GM closes sedan plant as American Axle strike continues
17. American Axle rejects UAW offer, talks continue | Reuters
18. American Axle: UAW's new proposal better, pay still too high - NewsFlash - mlive.com
19. Dayton, Ohio Weather, News, Sports and Entertainment WDTN.com, 2 On Your Side News and Weather: UAW gives economic proposal to American Axle, strike talks resume
20. American Axle Proposes Contract As Talks Continue - International Business Times -
21. American Axle talks resume
22. The Buffalo News: Latest Local News: American Axle rejects UAW pay proposal
23. UAW makes proposal in American Axle negotiations
24. Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA
25. American Axle Rises As Talks Resume - Forbes.com
26. GM defuses 1 of 5 feared strikes
27. UAW targets three GM plants for strikes
28. Local workers optimistic about American Axle strike talks | WSBT South Bend - Your Local News Leader | Local News
29. Axle is quiet on counter to union | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
30. American Axle conducts testing of job applicants - Crain's Detroit Business
31. Strike by supplier threatens GM plant - Vindy.com News - Local & Regional News - Youngstown, Warren, Columbiana, Ohio
32. Axle, UAW strike talks yield little agreement | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
33. American Axle Makes Proposal To UAW; Talks Set For Weekend
34. INDEX:International, Labour
35. Winston-Salem Journal | Outlook appearing brighter in Detroit
36. UAW sets strike date at 3 Mich. plants
37. WWJ Newsradio 950 - Walkouts Possible at 3 More GM Plants
38. 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio - American Axle Meets with UAW
39. WWJ Newsradio 950 - Daily Dash April 10, 2008
40. American Axle reaches contract agreements with unions in Mexico, U.K. - Forbes.com
41. American Axle strikers send message to would-be scabs
42. WLNS TV 6 Lansing Jackson Michigan News and Weather - WLNS.COM | UAW strike could cut production of GM's hot-selling products
43. GM Faces Strike Threat At Three Michigan Plants
44. 3 GM plants may strike
45. Axle talks add local union reps - Business First of Buffalo:
46. There's still hope for jobs in Mich.
47. Gas prices up 1.2 cents; oil tops $112 | The Journal Gazette
48. American Axle & Manufacturing offers UAW plan to end strike -- chicagotribune.com
49. Some GM jobs called 'non-core'
50. UAW / American Axle & Manufacturing Negotiations Update | Auto Spectator
51. wbfo NewsRoom
52. American Axle & Manufacturing Reaches Contract Agreements with Unions in Mexico and the United Kingdom
53. Automotive World - US: American Axle turns down UAW proposal
54. American Axle says UAWs new proposal is better, but pay still too high for company to compete - International Herald Tribune

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