Faces from the Picket Line

Fred Senczyszyn,
UAW Local 235

UAW Member Since 01-28-73
Machine Repairman at AAM

Brother Senczyszyn says he's happy to be a small part of the important struggle being waged between organized labor and management. We are now the ones who must bear the burden. This is the time and place to highlight the needs of all American workers. Our parents and grandparents worked hard to achieve what we have now. Now its our turn!

When other union members join us from across the U.S., we know we are not just striking for ourselves and in this fight alone. It gives us an incredible morale boost.

Photos Courtesy of Dwight Chatham & Norm Jones



Photos from Our April 14th Trip!

Around 3,650 UAW members at five American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) factories in Michigan and New York walked off their jobs February 26 in a dispute with the Detroit-based auto parts maker over proposed wage and benefit cuts. The strike began after their previous contracts expired.

AAM says its $73.48 all-in hourly labor cost is not competitive with rivals, many of which cut costs through bankruptcy. It wants to get its labor costs, including health care and retirement, down to $20 or $30 an hour. Before the strike, workers earned about $28 an hour. AAM says it needs $14 an hour wages to be competitive with rivals, many of which have cut costs through bankruptcy. The UAW says such concessions are not warranted given American Axle Chief Executive Richard Dauch's 2007 total compensation of $10.2 million and company profits of $37 million last year. Wage cuts of about 50 percent are unacceptable given the company's $37 million in profit last year on $3.2 billion in sales.

On April 9, full negotiating teams for the UAW and AAM met for the first formal talks in weeks. The return to the bargaining table comes on the heels of a meeting between UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and AAM CEO Richard Dauch.

GM, American Axle's largest customer, has said the strike has yet to significantly affect sales or inventory levels, including for pickup trucks and SUVs, of which AAM is a primary supplier. The walkout has fully or partially shut down 30 GM plants in the U.S. and Canada, mainly affecting production of SUVs and pickup trucks of which GM has several months' worth of inventory.

Making substantive progress toward ending the six-week strike has become more critical for GM, because it threatens to idle production of some of its best-selling products. Plants building the Chevrolet Cobalt compact car could be impacted, said UAW Local 1112 President Jim Graham, who represents workers at the Lordstown, Ohio, plant where the Cobalt is made.

The strike could also threaten production of GM's hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu sedan. The recently launched Malibu is a critical product for GM and already is in short supply. AAM does not directly supply parts for the Malibu, but the parts maker sells to major suppliers that in turn provide parts for the car. The Malibu is produced at GM's plants in Kansas City, Kansas, and Orion, Michigan. Malibu's were sitting on dealer lots an average of 18 days.

The strike is estimated to put as many as 40,000 out of work at American Axle, other suppliers and related companies.

April 18 rally to support AAM strikers

UAW members and supporters will rally at 11:30 am on April 18 at Detroit's Hart Plaza to support striking workers at American Axle. "The support our members have received during this strike is overwhelming," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. "Our rally on April 18th will be a great time to show solidarity with American Axle strikers, and to demonstrate support for keeping manufacturing jobs here in the United States," he said. d.

"Even business publications like the Automotive News can't understand how American Axle can justify giving pay raises to executives while demanding pay cuts from workers," said UAW Vice President James Settles Jr., who directs the union's American Axle Department. "Our members at American Axle are standing up for what's right—and we're inviting our entire community to stand with us on April 18th at Hart Plaza."

Visit www.uawaam.org for more information on the strike.

"We have to stick together—it's called solidarity."

Let us be clear. Any deal between the UAW and AAM could set a precedent for future contracts. It is them today, us tomorrow. "Hopefully, they see that it's time to put things to a close as we get into the second month of this strike," said Dana Edwards, shop chairman at UAW Local 235, which represents workers in Detroit. She fears that AAM's strategy is to keep workers on the streets long enough—making $200 a week in strike pay—so that accepting lower hourly wages seems like a good deal.

AAM placed newspaper advertisements for new hires, raising questions about whether it's seeking replacements for striking members. AAM spokeswoman Renee Rogers said the ad was primarily to start filling positions in anticipation of UAW employees taking buyouts or early retirements. But she also said it's possible they could be used to "temporarily replace current striking workers.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008, UAW committed to a fair, equitable settlement at American Axle