WBEN, February 26, 2008, Tuesday

WBEN

February 26, 2008, Tuesday

WBEN Reporter Tom Connolly

UAW On Strike Against American Axle

Buffalo, NY (WBEN/AP) -- The United Auto Workers union is on strike against four plants operated by American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
"We are walking out in about three minutes," UAW Regional Director Kevin Donovan told WBEN News just before the midnight strike deadline.
Picket lines are now in place outside the Cheektowaga Machining and Tonawanda Forge facilities.
Negotiators engaged in a final day of contract talks on Monday, in an effort to renew the current contract with the parts maker, a major supplier to General Motors Corp.
When asked if progress was made, Donovan replied, "Not enough to keep it going, no."
Negotiators for the auto supplier and the union also had met on Saturday and Sunday. Both sides declined to comment on the talks, aimed at reaching a labor deal for more than 3,000 UAW-represented workers in Michigan and New York, including its plants in Cheektowaga and Tonawanda.
To hear more on the lcoal strike, listen to Tom Connolly's audio report in the link above.
The sticking points in contract talks were said to be plans to shut down one Detroit-area operation, and the union's proposal to give lower-paid workers a chance to increase their wage scale over time, if they built up seniority.
With the possibility of a strike or work stoppage looming, American Axle had stockpiled parts for GM, which remains the supplier's largest customer and accounts for the majority of its sales, a person familiar with the matter said.
A prolonged UAW strike against American Axle could disrupt production of GM trucks and sport utility vehicles, analysts have said.
The UAW called brief strikes against GM and Chrysler LLC last year in an historic round of contract talks with the Detroit-based automakers that resulted in deals to sharply cut their labor costs as they attempt to return to profitability.
The union has also negotiated buyouts and early retirements with the automakers intended as a way to move higher-paid workers out of those jobs, while protecting their pension and retiree health care in most cases.
Analysts have said the UAW's agreements with GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. provide a template for cost-cutting agreements at American Axle, which pays wages and benefits on par with those at the major automakers.
On Friday, UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles released a statement on the talks with American Axle saying that the union was seeking "an agreement that will help our members, our community and the company."
The parts supplier's current agreement with the UAW was completed after a short work stoppage in 2004.
American Axle was spun off from GM in 1994 when Chief Executive Dick Dauch bought five GM axle plants and its current wage structure still reflects terms the UAW had negotiated with the No. 1 U.S. automaker.
Like other U.S. auto parts suppliers, American Axle has looked to expand production in emerging markets as it seeks cost reductions in the slumping North American market.
At the same time, American Axle has been restructuring to reduce production in market segments where demand has fallen off, such as parts intended for mid-sized SUVs.
The Detroit-based company generated sales of about $3.25 billion in 2007, about 78 percent from GM.
Other auto suppliers such as Delphi Corp and Dana Corp have negotiated cost cuts on wages and future benefits with the UAW during a recent round of bankruptcy reorganizations.
American Axle pays its hourly workers wages and benefits totaling about $65 per hour, roughly equivalent to the top wage for the three Detroit automakers.
The contract covers about 3,650 workers at facilities in Detroit and Three Rivers, Michigan; Tonawanda and Cheektowaga New York; and a Buffalo, New York, plant idled in late 2007.
Nearly 560 Buffalo workers agreed to take buyouts or other separation deals at the Buffalo plant. They are not included in the total figure. Other UAW-represented facilities at American Axle that are covered under a different agreement that did not expire on Monday.