Union members return to work after Local 2093 votes to approve new contract
On Sunday evening, Local 2093 members in Three Rivers voted 80% in favor of their new contract that runs through 2030 with American Axle, known locally as Dauch Corporation. Members approved the contract, granting them a finalized deal and sending them back to work.
As previously reported by Watershed Voice, the contract includes their “30 by 30” goal, meaning $30 per hour in wages by 2030. That will result in a 36% increase in top wages over the life of the contract. Bargaining Chair Josh Jager included a number of other provisions in the contract when announcing the tentative agreement.
On Monday morning, the pickets stayed home and the work boots were laced up as Local 2093 workers returned for their first day back in two weeks.
On Sunday evening, Local 2093 members in Three Rivers voted 80% in favor of their new contract that runs through 2030 with American Axle, known locally as Dauch Corporation. Members approved the contract, granting them a finalized deal and sending them back to work.
As previously reported by Watershed Voice, the contract includes their “30 by 30” goal, meaning $30 per hour in wages by 2030. That will result in a 36% increase in top wages over the life of the contract. Bargaining Chair Josh Jager included a number of other provisions in the contract when announcing the tentative agreement. Those include:
- Members currently making $18 per hour would reach the top wage rate by the end of the contract, representing a 67% wage increase, according to union leaders.
- Workers hired before May 31, 2008, would receive an immediate $8-per-hour wage increase upon ratification, bringing them to the top wage rate.
- No health care premium cost increases for the life of the contract.
- Additional holidays, including Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veterans Day, as well as additional time off around Christmas.
- Everyone with at least one year of seniority would receive an additional nine vacation days per year.
- A $2,000 ratification bonus.
The strike began June 2 after months of contract negotiations between union representatives and the company failed to produce a deal before the previous contract expired. Earlier in May, workers voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike if an agreement could not be reached. In announcing that vote, union leaders said American Axle & Manufacturing generated $8.4 billion in profits over the last decade, while CEO David Dauch received $111 million in compensation during that period, and the company’s top five executives received nearly $231 million combined.
Nationally, the United Auto Workers union is holding a vote of its own as it begins the process of electing its next president. Current president Shawn Fain is running for reelection, and his opponents are expected to be nominated by delegates at a UAW convention in Detroit this week, ahead of this fall’s election.
Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
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“After 18 years of sacrifice these workers are finally winning back a big chunk of what was taken from them,” UAW President Shawn Fain said during a Facebook livestream Wednesday.
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