American Axle (AA) posted a $27m first quarter loss today. AA CEO Dick Dauch told the Detroit Free Press "AAM's first-quarter 2008 results were severely impacted by the strike called by the International UAW at AA's original U.S. locations." The loss is quite the comedown from last year's first quarter profit of $15.7m. Robert W. Baird & Co equity analysts David Leiker said the impact of the strike was about 40 percent larger than he was expecting., "We continue to recommend investors avoid the stock due to questions regarding the company's long-term growth opportunities." As if to illustrate Leiker's point, hundreds of strikers picketed AA headquarters in Detroit, after negotiations broke down late last week. AA had offered a wage and benefit package, claiming it's "substantially higher than $30 an hour and is higher than what its competitors pay UAW members." The UAW (perhaps waiting for AA to post its losses) rejected the offer. The strike will officially enter its third month tomorrow with 3,650 AA employees on strike and some 30 GM plants shut down or in limited production.
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Give me $30 an hour and no union and I’ll work for AA right now. Hell, $30/hr and no union anywhere sounds real good. Who needs the UAW when the company is offering pay rates like that?
And this will help Michigan to gain the much needed Volkswagen factory, how?
Not to mention the “little coincidence” (NOT) of having the UAW picket the North American Auto Show at Detroit in January 2007 – as Mr. Watanabe was having to take a final decision about adding a car factory to Michigan, or to Ontario.
Guess which one got the factory?
Perhaps the rest of us in Michigan could convince Ohio to take Saginaw, Genesee, Oakland, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe and Washtenaw counties off our hands if we pay them a one-time fee…
No way we here in Ohio are going to take them! :-P
But substantially more than $30 an hour?! And they are complaining?! What the hell is wrong with these people? I think someone needs to go and show them what the rest of America’s job market is like.
How about Canada? Would you like some nice – er – um – oh, never mind…
Who’s in charge of AA’s finances? One minute, they can’t compete unless they chop wages, the next they’re offering up raises? Am I the only one who notices something fishy about this?
Why didn’t they just stand pat on the collective bargaining agreement they had in the first place?
I now return you to your regularly scheduled union bashfest.
Nobody got offered 30$ an hour, OK?
Management claims employees cost 70$ an hour,and they want to half that.
Hey I wonder if Dick Dauch has to give back some of his 10 million bonus now?
Yeah, that $30 an hour probably includes sick time, vacation time, medical benefits, retirement plan, employer-paid taxes, etc. Their actual take home salary is probably half that.
Folks, the article stated “substantially higher than $30 an hour and is higher than what its competitors pay UAW members.”
How much that is we don’t know. But for the type of work they are doing, you tell me where else they could get that.
Nobody got offered 30$ an hour, OK?
Management claims employees cost 70$ an hour,and they want to half that.
Well that makes more sense, and I can see why the UAW rejected AA’s offer.
Well that makes more sense, and I can see why the UAW rejected AA’s offer.
…and with AA bleeding money, if they just wait a little longer…
@EN:
…they can see all their jobs head to Mexico. Brilliant. Not.
If the owner of American Axle was to “sell” the company to a new owner(s); would the new owner be able to get rid of the union?
DCX sold crysler to cerberus and the uaw’s still there. Does that answer your question?
I don’t think that the general public realizes that when a corporation, such as American Axle says that employee’s make $70 per hour that this includes everything from vacation time,sick days,health insurance,life insurance,any type of bonus incentive,etc. Wake up people,if they say they offered $30 per hour then it is actually about $14 per hour. And let me ask you this, if your company asked you to live on only half of what you now make, could you do it? I think the answer would be no! Your bills and finances are set up according to the pay you now make. So please let’s not buy in to this lie that the corporations want us to believe. I am proud of these people for standing their ground.
I have a few more comments to add. The people that American Axle are claiming now make $70 per hour actually make $28 per hour and have been there for years. Why do others begrudge what others are making. I only make $14 per hour, but have no problem with these people making what they make. The problem with our country is that we do not stick together nor stand our ground. We need unions. Maybe if you had a strong union you would be making this too. We also need a president who will quit sending American jobs to other countries. I have lost 2 jobs already for this exact reason. And speaking of sending jobs to other countries, this is why so many Americans are ending up with inferior products that are making them sick or killing them. WAKE UP AMERICA!