w AAM r l ~ q n i t h p comnanv's hioh* nrofits
--.r..- ~ --...r.. ~ . - . . ~ r~~ .~~
, .~ Its CEO Dick Dauch, who is also chair of
1he United Auto Workers' new con- and its linchpin position in the indus- the ~ational ~ssociation of Manu-
tract at American Axle & Manufacturing try-two factors which both gave the facturers, was the hi hest pald CEO In
highlights both the union's unused union strong leverage. Michigan in 2002, at 327.6 rniliion.
power and the strength of its commit- AAM-a spin-off from General And AAM plants make crltlcal parts.
ment to reducing wages in the auto Motors, with UAW plants in Michigan The union's one-day strike February 26
parts industry. The union chose to and New York-made record earnings of quickly shut down two assembly piants.
- But1
accept a lower wage for new-hires at $197.1 million, up 12 percent, in 2003. If the strike had lasted longer, more
Auto Parts Workers Strike
How We Got to 'No'
by Dianne Feeley, UAWLocal235
The Detroit Gear & Axle complex,
the largest by far within AAM, voted
down the two-tier national contract by
56 percent. The main reasons were:
1. Advance preparation. It was clear
that the Delphi and Visteon contracts of
last fall, which set up a permanent sec-
ond-tier work force at about half our
wages, would be a blueprint for AAM.
Our local president, Wendy Thompson,
spread that information through her
monthly newsletter, "Shifting Gears."
Before onr negotiations opened, 1
made a motion at the December union
meeting to pay for 3,000 "No TWO-
Tier/Solidarity Forever" buttons.
That motion was defeated then and
again in January, as the appointed reps,
sensing that the International was for
Memoers of ,A5N -oca 235 p c6elcd Aoncr can Axles brgesl p.ant Tne, voleo to reecr lne con-
tract !vn cv estana snbs a tr%"-r er wag? sptem at onc o f ~ no.srry s most pro1 Ian.? cornpan es.
c
I
I
two-tier, werenot going to stick their my plant to ask co-workers to attend the Another woman suggested we orga-
necks out. (We have about 55 joint and January meeting and provide me with nize a petition against two-tier. We
International-appointed "clipboarders" seed money so we could go ahead and gathered about 500 signatures and
in our local.) order the buttons. I got over $400 from turned them in to the national negotiat-
In the meantime, I put out a leaflet in over 40 members. ing team.
Two-Tier Wages Are institutionalized
When the buttons came back from
the minter, about 50 people in various
and on different shifts helped to
I
by Pete Bennett, UAWLocal2093 Aside from the cash, other positive
When 6,500 UAW men~be~s struck sell them. What this showed
factors are a ban on plant closings and involved in distribution wasthose of us
that both
the six AAM plants covered by a com- pension increases for future retirees.
mon national agreement, GM lost a The Three Rivers, Michigan plant the long-time GM workers (from before
reported five shifts of truck assembly in already had three tiers of wages and the plants were sold to AAM) and the
just the first day. The vulnerability of benefiis; current second- and tsird-tier newer, younger workers stood together.
"just in time" manufacturing became workers' benefits (but not wages) will African Americans and whites, pro-
apparent. now be brought up to the tier-one level. duction and skilled trades, men (80 per-
The agreement is patterned after last Union negotiators called the strike in cent of the workforce) and women
fall's Delphi agreement (also a spin-off order to win a ulant closing ban that understood how it would undermine
of GM). It includes an undefined two-
tier wage system, "to be negotiated
later" for all new-hires.
AAM was resistlfng. our s~ludtlon h.we .worker>
lo
At our local the discussions/debates half our wn2r.s \rirl~
were earnest yet tempered by the cama-
I~enelirs
~ofr.li<~r
~lldklllg
Some appointed ofiicials immediate-
I
Other concessions include: no wage raderie generated by our first-ever ly told people they shouldn't be wearing
increase for production workers for four strike. F& manly the choice to vote yes the button-that it wasn't officially
years (unlike Delphi, where the or no was not easy. Each member had sanctioned by the local, that the shop
increase will be five percent); cuts of up to consider the overall picture of a suc- chair didn't support the campaign-and
to five cents per quarter from workers' cessful and arrogant company doing some stopped wearing their buttons
future cost of living allowance (COLA); business in an ever more competitive under pressure.
and higher co-pays for some medical marketplace. 2. The fact that one member of the
benefits. The matter is now settled and we negotiating team, our local president,
The agreement includes substantial must move on. In Three Rivers that had pledged to oppose two-tier and
lump-sum payments, however, which, means renegotiating a local contract, held firm.
taken together, will total $11,000 or followed by election of ofiicerj in early After the settlement was reached,
more over the life of the Contract. May. The strke disproved a suspicion Thompson put out two leaflets andigave
Skilled trades workers will gain 30 cents long held by many of us that the UAW a minority report at the shiff inf6Yma-
per hour. had completely lost its will to fight. Q tional meetings. Many times at the gates
PAGE 8 APRIL 2004 LABOR NOTES