Workers at auto supplier prepare to strike

DETROIT (AP) — Workers at auto supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. on Monday were preparing to strike as the company and the United Auto Workers neared a deadline to negotiate a new labor deal.

American Axle’s contract, which covers around 3,600 UAW workers in Michigan and New York, was set to expire at midnight today.

The UAW’s recent contracts with the Detroit Three automakers, which established lower wages for thousands of nonassembly workers, have set the stage for tough negotiations at some of their suppliers.

American Axle was spun off from GM in 1994, but GM still makes up 78 percent of the company’s business. American Axle’s wage structure long has mirrored GM’s.

Bill Younts, vice president of UAW Local 2093 in Three Rivers, Mich., said he expected to strike and was preparing picket signs Monday.

American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said negotiations between American Axle and the UAW continued through the weekend and into Monday.

Rogers said American Axle’s manufacturing workers can make up to $65 an hour in wages and benefits, which is on par with assembly workers at GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. The company wants to cut that to $20 to $30 an hour, which would be similar to the agreements reached between the UAW and the Detroit Three as well as other auto suppliers such as Dana Corp. and Delphi Corp.

The UAW agreed to lower the wages for starting workers at American Axle after a one-day strike in 2004. But Rogers said American Axle has hired so few new workers since 2004 that it has seen little advantage.

Younts said about half his local’s 800 members make the lower wages, which start at $13.50 per hour, or around $38 per hour including benefits.