TL;DRNearly 1,000 UAW workers struck at a Dauch Corp axle plant in Three Rivers, Michigan, threatening production of GM’s Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks. Workers’ wages were cut from $29/hour to $22/hour during the 2008 crisis and have barely recovered in 18 years.
Nearly 1,000 unionised workers at a Dauch Corp plant in Three Rivers, Michigan, walked off the job at midnight on Sunday after the United Auto Workers declared an unfair labour practice strike over stalled contract negotiations. The factory makes axles for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, two of General Motors’ most profitable vehicles, and any prolonged disruption could ripple through GM’s truck supply chain within days.
The timing is particularly acute. GM’s Flint Assembly plant, which builds both pickups, is scheduled to add a sixth day of weekly production in June to meet demand. A parts shortage from Three Rivers would force the Flint plant to slow or halt operations just as GM is trying to accelerate output. The vulnerability mirrors what the technology industry experienced during Samsung’s chip factory strike threat, where a single supplier bottleneck could cascade through an entire production chain.
