UAW strikes Dauch axle plant: 18 years of wage cuts catch up with a GM supplier

The UAW has called a strike at the Dauch plant in Three Rivers, Michigan. The factory makes driveline parts and axles for General Motors pickups, which means a wage dispute could quickly hit the assembly lines of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.

The plant employs roughly 1,000 UAW members. They walked off the job at midnight local time after 98% of workers voted in early May to authorize a strike. GM has said it is closely monitoring the situation and assessing the risks to its production lines.

Wages are the union’s central grievance. According to the UAW, workers accepted concessions back in 2008 to keep the plant open, but 18 years later they still haven’t returned to pre-crisis levels. Top pay now reaches $22 an hour after a five-year progression. In 2008 it could climb as high as $29 an hour.

UAW President Shawn Fain framed the workers’ position bluntly: “For 18 years these members have built you an empire of profit while being treated like dirt. They’ve taken wage cuts, benefit cuts, they poured their souls into this plant.”

For GM the risk is especially awkward because of what the plant makes. Axles and driveline components can’t be papered over with ad campaigns or dealer discounts: if shipments stop, the pickup assembly line will feel the shortage almost immediately. And full-size pickups remain among the most profitable vehicles for the Detroit Three.

It’s still unclear how quickly the strike will reach GM’s conveyor belts. But the UAW has picked a sensitive target: not a high-profile assembly plant, but a supplier without which expensive pickups never become finished cars.

Sometimes pressure on a giant automaker doesn’t start at GM’s own gates — it starts at the plant that makes one unremarkable but absolutely critical part.