UAW reaches tentative deal to end strike at GM truck axle supplier

The United Auto Workers and Dauch Corp. have reached a tentative four-year labor agreement at the company’s axle plant in Three Rivers, Michigan, a deal that could end a 10-day strike at a key supplier to General Motors trucks.

The agreement still needs to be ratified by about 970 hourly workers. If they approve it, the walkout at the former American Axle plant would end and shipments to GM would resume under the new contract.

Strike and timeline

The strike began on June 1, when workers walked off the job at the Three Rivers facility. The plant makes axles for GM’s full-size and midsize trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon.

That made the dispute strategically important well beyond the plant itself. The facility feeds parts into some of GM’s most profitable vehicles, giving the union leverage even as GM kept pickup production going during the strike.

Reporting on the dispute said GM’s existing supplies would not be sustainable for long without fresh axle deliveries. The tentative deal reported on June 11 came after 10 days of work stoppage and followed earlier WSJ coverage of the strike’s pressure point in GM’s truck supply chain.

What workers were seeking

The dispute centered on wages, benefits and overtime. Workers at the plant had been earning about $22 an hour and were pushing to recover wages closer to the roughly $29 hourly rate they had before recession-era cuts in 2008.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the agreement recovers a meaningful share of what workers lost after those cuts. The union has framed the contract fight as part of a broader effort to reverse concessions made during the financial crisis.

Company and union reaction

Dauch Corp. said it was pleased to reach the tentative agreement with UAW Local 2093 and thanked both bargaining teams for their work. The company did not disclose full contract terms in the reporting packet.

The tentative accord is a significant step, but it is not final. The local membership must approve the contract before the strike can formally end.

What happens next

If workers ratify the deal, the plant is expected to return to normal operations and restore axle shipments to GM. That would ease pressure on the truck supply line and reduce the risk of broader production disruption.

If the agreement is rejected, negotiations would continue and the strike pressure would remain. The outcome will also serve as a test of how far the UAW can roll back recession-era concessions at a strategically important supplier.

The vote will determine whether the 970 hourly workers return to work under the new four-year contract or whether the dispute extends beyond the 10-day walkout.