GM offers $200 million in bid to end American Axle strike

GM conditioned the funds on a speedy agreement between the United Auto Workers union and American Axle. Renee Rogers, spokeswoman for GM, said the company was hopeful the funds will facilitate an expedited resolution to the international UAW strike. She added, Its been costly and disruptive. A quick return to work will be a win-win-win for everybody.

The strike at American Axle has resulted in the total or partial closure of many GM facilities.

While the agreement being worked out will be a win for GM and American Axle, it will be a devastating loss for the workers at American Axle. No details of the contract negotiations have been officially released, but a framework for an agreement reportedly includes the slashing of wages from the current $28 an hour to between $14 and $17 for most workers. The agreement would also close two forging plants and possibly another assembly plant, eliminating several hundred jobs.

Adrian King, the outgoing president at UAW Local 253 in Detroit, Michigan, has said he estimates that half of the American Axle work force would take buyouts of up to $140,000 and leave the company.

This is a stunning indictment of the UAW leadership, since it indicates that workers have no confidence the union will defend their jobs and wages. The workers, in the eleventh week of their strike, have been strung out on a meager $200 a week in strike pay, and many are facing increasing financial distress.

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