UAW Local 2093 has locked in a tentative agreement with American Axle & Manufacturing that lifts top pay to $30 an hour by 2030, ending a 10-day strike at the supplier’s Three Rivers, Michigan plant. The union announced the deal on June 10, capping a walkout that began at midnight on June 1 after the local’s contract expired May 31.
A wage fight rooted in 2008
According to UAW’s own statement, the agreement delivers a top wage of $30 an hour by 2030, a 36% increase over four years. Legacy workers hired before May 31, 2012 receive an immediate $8-an-hour raise upon ratification.
The union framed the number as restoring ground lost during the financial crisis. Workers at the plant were earning close to $29 an hour in 2008 before wages were slashed to $14.50 during the Great Recession, according to UAW.
UAW President Shawn Fain said in the statement: “Tonight, after 10 days on strike, I am proud to announce that UAW Local 2093 has reached a tentative agreement.” Region 1D Director Steve Dawes added that the contract “took care of the legacy people, the people working there today, and future generations.” Local 2093 Bargaining Chair Josh Jager said the deal “will change lives in Three Rivers and across southwest Michigan.”
Members ratify with 80% support
Nearly 1,000 UAW members work at the Three Rivers facility, a Tier 1 supplier that builds driveline and axle components for General Motors. The Detroit News reported the walkout threatened to disrupt GM pickup production before the tentative deal was reached.
Members ratified the contract five days later, on June 15, with 80% voting in favor, according to a follow-up statement from UAW. Jager called it delivery on “our rallying cry: $30 by ’30.”
Beyond the wage bump, CBS News Detroit reported the contract includes a $2,000 ratification bonus, no increase to healthcare premiums, and nine additional vacation days per year for workers with at least a year of tenure. The deal also adds paid recognition for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Veterans Day and expands time off around Christmas.
Fain characterized the outcome as workers “finally winning back a big chunk of what was taken from them” after 18 years of concessions dating back to the recession-era cuts.
American Axle, headquartered in Detroit, supplies driveline and metal-forming components for internal combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles across the industry. The Three Rivers plant’s return to full production removes a supply-chain bottleneck that had put pressure on GM’s truck output during the strike.