The UAW Local 2093 at the Three Rivers plan will be in a tough position getting their contract objectives met with American Axle and with a 98 percent could end up in a protracted strike, unlike the Big Three automakers which have a national contract for all UAW members at each automaker, supplier companies like AAM negotiate separate contracts with their own local union representatives, each plant or facility has its own UAW local that negotiates directly with management for that site which greatly reduces bargaining leverage for the union.

The UAW did attempt to improve their bargaining leverage with a Coordinated strike vote with both American Axle in Three Rivers and the Stellantis’ Sterling Heights Ram 1500 plant which is having outsourcing issues with Stellantis.

The near-simultaneous strike authorization votes at American Axle and the Stellantis facility pointed to a coordinated UAW approach to leverage pressure across multiple employers. By aligning timelines, the union would have increased bargaining power and signal a preparedness to escalate actions if demands were not met at both companies.

Immediately, the votes would have heightened tensions at both plants and accelerated negotiations. In the short term, a strike at Sterling Heights could have halted the Ram 1500 production, affecting dealer inventories and local suppliers, while American Axle stoppages would have damaged GM’s supply chain. Long term, outcomes could have set precedents for wage restoration, outsourcing limits, and future contract enforcement in the auto industry, strikes are designed to cause maximum damage to the company’s ability to operate and profit, successful strikes which extract concessions from management are also the unions best sales pitch for potential new organizing members.

Unfortunately for the AAM UAW local, this lifeline was severed when the Stellantis Sterling Heights facility, which employs roughly 6,000 union workers, resolved the grievances tied to outsourced skilled trades work, resolving these issues lead the UAW to cancel the strike vote.

More potential strikes are on the horizon this year, the contract covering 20,000 Verizon workers in 25,000 Steelworkers at Cleveland Cliffs and US Steel mills have contracts expiring on September, In October, contracts will expire for 17,000 Boeing engineers and techs, June, about 14,000 UFCW members at Kroger in Michigan, 6000 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate Employees, and many more.

Strikes can be devastating to companies and workers lives but can be avoided, Unions are not going away, and companies don’t have the luxury to ignore union activity, well trained supervision who understands union tactics and how to spot union activity along with a comprehensive communication policy are vital to maintaining a productive union free environment.

https://pslabor.com/

Read the full article at: www.linkedin.com