The five week-old strike at American Axle is finally starting to wear on GM, and the General has decided to move a small but crucial parts contract over to rival supplier Dana to help get its truck plants moving again. The 30,000-unit prop shaft contract for light pickups is considered a small deal, but the fact that GM is beginning to move on shows that the strike, which began on February 26, is beginning to take its toll on the giant automaker. The move is going to anger the striking workers, but it will also likely help get American Axle management back at the bargaining table. Recent events show that still more GM plants are being hurt by the strike, as the plant that builds the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS was shut down last Friday, and Automotive News reports the Chevy Cobalt plant could idle this week. Perhaps the biggest news of all is that GM is running out of rear suspension knuckles for the hot-selling Chevy Malibu. Since the General is in the middle of a mega-million dollar ad push for the North American Car of the Year, we're guessing a work stoppage at the Orion, MI plant won't be taken lightly. This ever-lengthening strike may have started out as a non-story, but lost production on a grand scale of some of GM's most profitable products will hurt GM, American Axle, and its 3,600 workers in the long run.
[Source: Automotive News - subs. req'd]
Volkswagen unveils Passat R36 Variant Styling Study at Worthersee
Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 debuts at Wörthersee
2010 Chevy Camaro caught in first stages of production
Spy Shots II: Jaguar XF-R
Officially Official (almost): Audi TT clubsport quattro
Autoblog Podcast #94
Hiroshi Tamura gives us closer look at 2009 Nissan Maxima
In the Autoblog Garage: Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special
In The Autoblog Garage: Suzuki XL7
First Drive: 2009 Ford Escapes, more of almost everything
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dude @ Apr 1st 2008 10:35AM
Good for GM.
Union thuggery only works when they control all of the output. Let's hope Dana can get the parts to GM quickly and that American Axle can hire some people who actually want to work.
jim @ Apr 24th 2008 4:32PM
the workers on strike at american axel WANT to work. they dont want to take a stiff pay cut. they are asking to keep their wages the same... whats wrong with that? why take money from hard working people? why give the work to someone who will only hurt the economy? by hiring scabs, they will be able to make even higher profits while paying their workers less and less... wheres the money to stimulate the economy? oh yeah! its in GMs pockets!
Corey W. @ Apr 1st 2008 10:35AM
Can't say I see anything negative here...IMO, that's the way it should work, you have a problem, don't like something, go to another vendor... doesn't matter if, it's parts, services or people.
fannibal @ Apr 1st 2008 10:46AM
market forces are as real as the laws of physics. Businesses are pressured to make money. Employees are pressured to make money. And discerning consumers want to get what they pay for.
Seeing how these jobs do not require a lot of education, there are plenty of people in other parts of the world who are willing to work harder for less pay. There is no way around it.
In this economy, you better specialize, or your job will get shipped elsewhere. It even applies in medicine, which is the field I am going into. Radiology is a specialty that is arleady seeing jobs being outsourced. Since looking at X-Rays and CT images doesn't require you to be actually in the US, there are some hospitals that use indian doctors to look at X-rays for them.
cowboy bob @ Apr 1st 2008 11:00AM
Fanni- you are right on. I have already seen in the machine tool business where the machines are located in one part of the world, and the machinists are located in another. It is possible to do all the programming and monitoring via the internet, with only the task of material handling being done at the manufacturing site. The equipment is self loading as to machine tools, and unskilled labor is needed only to assure material movement. Anyone who thinks they cannot do without them, has a lot to learn. All business, of any kind, will be world sourced. Keep those "strike" signs for next winter. They will be handy to burn to keep warm.
Jason @ Apr 1st 2008 11:02AM
If one place can't supply it, go somewhere else. That's the way business works. They shouldn't be in it to make buddies, they should be in it to satisfy demand from their customers. If you can't get what you want from AA, go somewhere else... maybe a non-union shop... that'd be funny... then maybe the stupid union will get the hint.
Steve_S @ Apr 1st 2008 11:23AM
Don't expect AA management to come to the table, expect AA management to shift more work to their Mexico plant.
len simpson @ Apr 1st 2008 11:34AM
My 20 years as a reluctant member of IAM showed me what unions are best at------killing companies & supporting deadbeats.
Chris @ Apr 1st 2008 11:40AM
I wonder how long before they put protesters in front of DANA offices?
I wonder if they will use actual union members or instead hire low wage no benefit bums to hold signs like the unions do down here?
Bill G. @ Apr 1st 2008 11:53AM
I am confused since aren't American Axel and Dana both UAW companies?
Richard S. @ Apr 1st 2008 1:25PM
IIRC, Dana is already in bankruptcy and most likely their employees have made some concessions and with annual car sales rate dropping and the economy wabbling, the UAW employees at Dana probably want any business they can get. Siding with American Axle workers won't help them because Dana employees already had concessions taken so there is nothing to save but their own jobs.
MajorGeek @ Apr 1st 2008 12:07PM
Good, GM can't afford this now as they are making such progress and the pressure is on from all sides.
That said, it's a shame that they union does not have a fund to pay these guys for a few months pay; they have been collecting from some of these guys for decades. Most of these guys have mortgages and bills to pay and can only last a month or two. As I have always known from many years of experience, being in a union means you work for 2 corporations, one on your side and the other on their side and both sides are screwing you.
JW @ Apr 1st 2008 12:55PM
They could probably get a Chinese supplier to get this part done quickly and cheaply.
geo.stewart @ Apr 1st 2008 1:41PM
probably, but quality control would not be there.
not to say it couldnt eventually be sourced foreign but I dont see that as an option for right now.
Stuka @ Apr 1st 2008 3:15PM
This is good news for DANA. They need all the work they can get right now. They have taken some big hits in the last few years. It may be a small order now, but it could turn into more orders in the future.
I am wonder why Dodge has not been effected though. The RAM 2500 and 3500 both use AAM axles.
Eric Biran @ Apr 1st 2008 3:52PM
What exactly is the point of a 5+ week strike where they aren't even willing to sit down at the bargaining table? Does the UAW think that walking out on the job and crippling an already weak supplier industry will suddenly force their superiors to concede bushels of cash without any kind of negotiations? I thought striking was about walking off the job to get TO the bargaining table, not away from it--and for over a month at that. Keep it up for another month and they'll get what they bargained for: nothing. No job to go back to, no pay, and no company. Sounds like a great plan.
tom @ Apr 15th 2008 6:58AM
Maybe they should give Dana more of there work.You go to a supplier you can get the parts from now not when they want to come off strike