UAW Workers Strike at Michigan Axle Plant Over 2008 Wage Cuts

Nearly 1,000 axle manufacturing workers in western Michigan walked off the job after failing to reach a labor agreement with their employer.

Workers went on strike Monday morning after the company refused to reverse deep concessions they made in 2008 to keep the plant open. Some of the senior employees had their pay cut in half in 2008, from $29 an hour to $14.50, the United Auto Workers said.

The facility, located in Three Rivers, Mich., makes axles for some of General Motors’ most profitable models, including the heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, as well as midsize trucks such as the Chevrolet Colorado. The company, Dauch Corp., was called American Axle & Manufacturing before changing its name in January 2026.

“It is disappointing that our UAW-represented Associates at our Three Rivers Manufacturing Facility have decided to implement a work stoppage,” spokesman Christopher Son said in a statement. “The Company believes that the best outcomes for everyone—our Associates, the union, and the Company—are reached at the bargaining table. We remain committed to negotiating with the union in good faith and hope to promptly reach a fair agreement.”

Dauch Corp. has seen mixed returns over the past several years, never fully recovering from steep losses during the pandemic. The company brought in $5.8 billion in sales last year, but is also saddled with $4.25 billion in debt—far more than comparable suppliers, according to Bloomberg data.

UAW President Shawn Fain painted a different picture at a virtual press conference Sunday night, telling the company it hadn’t repaid workers for their sacrifice in keeping it afloat.

“These members have built you an empire of profit while getting treated like dirt,” he said.

Fain has used his first term as head of the union to frequently highlight auto profits that he says haven’t been passed down to front-line workers. In 2023, the union won a 25% wage increase, cost-of-living adjustments, and an end to a lower-wage tier instituted by automakers in the late 2000s, as part of a deal to end a six-week strike against the Detroit automakers.

GM has largely rebounded since filing for bankruptcy in 2009. Last year, the company reported $2.7 billion in profit, down from $6 billion the prior year.