WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
American Axle workers in Three Rivers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.
Ahead of the May 31 contract expiration, nearly 1,000 workers at the General Motors supplier voted by 98% to authorize strike action should the company refuse to offer a fair contract, members said.
UAW Local 2093 Region 1D Director Steve Dawes said the message to American Axle reiterates that workers need a fair contract now. He said workers have waited long enough for the company to do the right thing.
Union officials said their demands are not far-fetched and they are simply demanding a fair share after years of sacrifices.
In 2008, workers at American Axle gave up a number of concessions to save the facility from closure. Many long-time workers who were making as much as $29 an hour in 2008 saw their wages slashed to $14.50. Today, workers are still yet to make up all that lost ground, Dawes said, noting wages currently top out at $22 an hour.
Union officials said the Three Rivers plant has generated $8.4 billion in profits over the past decade.
