Buffalo News (New York), March 2, 2008, Sunday
Copyright 2008 Buffalo News
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
March 2, 2008, Sunday
SECTION: BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL NEWS
HEADLINE: Axle strikers don't have much leverage
BYLINE: Matt Glynn, The
BODY:
Mar. 2--Striking workers at American Axle & Manufacturing face a tough fight as the auto parts maker seeks deep cuts in their wages and benefits.
Slumping
A quick resolution is not expected. About 3,650 United Auto Workers members are on strike against the parts supplier, including more than 500 from two active plants in the
On the surface, it would seem General Motors Corp. would create pressure for a settlement, since GM accounts for about 80 percent of American Axle's business.
American Axle had stockpiled parts for its customers ahead of the strike. But by Friday, GM had been forced to idle four of its assembly plants, raising questions about whether its stockpile of parts already was running short.
Even so, the weak auto market could reduce any sense of urgency for GM.
GM has an average of 115 days' supply at plants supplied by American Axle, according to data collected by Automotive News. That's almost double the industry practice of keeping a 60-day supply available.
"If [vehicles] were selling, the strike would be settled," said Arthur Wheaton, director of
Striking workers are also feeling pressure on their wages, which the company's chairman and chief executive officer, Richard Dauch, argues are far higher than workers at competitors like
According to the UAW, the company wants to cut workers' wages from $28 per hour to $14 per hour. Dauch says the UAW agreed to wage-cutting moves at Dana and
And while the UAW agreed to wage-reduction deals with GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC, the lower wages were designated only for new hires in certain jobs, not for existing workers.
American Axle and the UAW are at odds over more than wage and benefit offers, which could prolong the strike. The union claims the company hasn't shared the financial documents it needs to see to evaluate American Axle's situation. The company says it has given the union all the documents it is entitled to. The union has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over the issue.
The strike has also raised questions about American Axle's plans for its Buffalo-area plants.
American Axle reportedly proposed closing its forge in the Town of
Under those circumstances,
American Axle isn't strictly a
And while the company's overall work force is 33 percent larger than at its formation, American Axle has trimmed its
Its local work force was cut in half last year after 558 workers at the now-idled
In a conference call with auto analysts a few weeks ago, Dauch praised the company's ever-growing manufacturing plant in
Within the next three to five years, Dauch said the company expects its
By 2012, the company expects its non-U.S. manufacturing activity to grow to more than 50 percent, as it adds or expands plants in places like
Where does all of this global expansion leave the operations in
Dauch told a Detroit News columnist last week that American Axle's five core plants, including the three in the
At the start of the strike, the company stated it would continue to invest in its original
"It has to be a community response,"
The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
To see more of The Buffalo News, N.Y., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.buffalonews.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The
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