UAW Local 2093 Members at American Axle File Federal Unfair Labor Practice Charges
UAW Local 2093 members at American Axle (also known as Dauch Corporation) in Three Rivers, Michigan, filed Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) federal charges against the company for illegally threatening and intimidating union members organizing for a fair contract ahead of the expiration on May 31. Nearly 1,000 workers voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike earlier this month.
“Calling the police on your own dedicated workforce for holding union flyers isn’t just a violation of federal labor law – it’s a desperate attempt to bully workers into submission,” said UAW Region 1D Director Steve Dawes. “But that’s not going to work with UAW Local 2093 members. These workers are going to stay strong for a record contract.”
The federal labor charges follow an April 13 incident at the plant entrance, where management called local police to remove and escort off-duty employees who were distributing UAW literature, buttons and stickers. Management further threatened workers with termination and trespassing charges – actions that are in direct violation of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which explicitly protects a worker’s right to organize.
“We are well-aware of our federally protected right to organize, speak out, and stand together, and we are going to exercise those rights all the way through,” said UAW Local 2093 Chairperson at American Axle, Josh Jagger. “We will not be intimidated by corporate bullies when we are the ones who spent years building this company back up.”
In 2008, workers at American Axle took major sacrifices to save the facility from closure during the Great Recession. Many long-time workers who were making as much as $29 an hour in 2008 saw their wages slashed to $14.50. Today, eighteen years later, workers are still yet to make up all that lost ground, with wages at American Axle currently topping out at $22 an hour after a five-year progression, with inflation-adjusted wages cut in half from their pre-2008 levels.
Meanwhile, in the last decade, as a Tier 1 parts supplier to General Motors, American Axle has generated $8.4 billion in profits. Over that time, the company’s CEO has been paid $111 million, with the top five executives receiving nearly $231 million in compensation – while UAW members working at the Three Rivers plant struggle to afford basic needs, with some even forced to sleep in their cars.
