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No end in sight to strike at American Axle: UAW

UAW local president Doug Rademacher, right, holds a US flag as members of his union picket during the strike called by UAW Local 602 at the General Motors Lansing/Delta Township Plant on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

The president of United Auto Workers (UAW) said he was optimistic that the union could settle several contracts disputes at General Motors Corp factories.

But Ron Gettelfinger was not as hopeful on Saturday when it came to an eight-week strike at parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

Gettelfinger told reporters before speaking to a Detroit-area Democratic Party dinner that American Axle is not negotiating much.

About 3,600 workers at five American Axle plants have been on strike since Feb. 26.

“I would hope we could resolve Axle, but we cannot negotiate an agreement with ourselves,” he said before a speech to Livingston County Democrats. “It seems like it’s all give on our side.”

UAW also is on strike at a GM plant near Lansing, Michigan, that makes hot-selling crossover vehicles and has threatened to strike tomorrow at a plant in Kansas City that builds the popular new Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

Both plants have unresolved local contracts that govern overtime, assembly line speed, staffing and other issues not covered by the national contract signed last year.

“I’m hopeful we can get GM resolved,” Gettelfinger said.

Negotiations were continuing through the weekend at the GM plants, but recessed on Saturday until later this week at American Axle. The parts supplier makes axles, stabilizer bars, drive shafts and other components. GM makes up 80 percent of its business.

The American Axle strike has hampered production at about 30 GM factories in the US and Canada, mainly those that make components for and assemble pickup trucks and large sport utility vehicles.

Gettelfinger said in his speech that American Axle chairman and CEO Richard Dauch made US$258 million from 1997 through last year, but wants workers to work for nothing.

“They use the word competitive until they wear it out, but are they competitive with their own salaries?” he asked.

American Axle has said in the past that Dauch took risks to start the company at some former GM facilities.

A message was left for American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers.

Gettelfinger also told reporters that UAW did not want to hurt GM’s sales, but that the union was amazed the local contracts had gone unresolved for so long. GM spokesman Dan Flores on Saturday would say only that the company hoped to end the disputes soon.

American Axle has said its US hourly labor cost of about US$73 per worker, including fringe benefits, is three times the rate at its domestic competitors and too high for it to win new business.

American Axle, formed from parts plants sold by GM in 1994, wants to cut the labor costs to US$20 to US$30 an hour, which would be similar to competitors and to what will be paid to some new hires under agreements reached between UAW and the in-house axle-making operations at Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.
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