THREE RIVERS, MICH. – Nearly 1,000 unionized auto workers who walked off the job in Three Rivers, Michigan, last week over failed contract negotiations have reached a tentative agreement with their employer, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced Wednesday.
If ratified, the four-year agreement with American Axle — a Tier 1 supplier to General Motors — would secure a significant wage hike for UAW workers of $30 per hour by 2030 – marking a more than 36% increase to the top wage rate.
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Union members cited “major concessions” in the form of wage cuts as the reason for the strike that began at midnight on June 1, noting that employees were forced to accept pay cuts in 2008 to save the facility from closure. At the time, wages were cut nearly in half from $29 an hour to $14.50 an hour, with wages topping out at $22 an hour under the previous contract.
“This fight at American Axle will go down in the history books, because it teaches us some vital lessons,” Fain said in a livestream published on Wednesday. “These members have waited for nearly two decades to start winning back what was taken from them in the great recession. In 2026, the waiting was over.”
Under the new contract, legacy UAW members hired before May 31, 2012, would get an immediate $8 per hour wage increase. Other demands made by workers in the agreement include more paid days off without an increase in healthcare costs — something UAW leaders say the company insisted could not be done.
“Despite what the company pushed for, we would not accept any concessions from this agreement,” said UAW Local 2093 Bargaining Chair Josh Jager on Wednesday. “This contract ensures there will be no healthcare premium cost increases for the life of the deal. What you pay today is what you’ll pay for the next four years.”
Additionally, Jager said, American Axle workers would get more time off for holidays, including Martin Luther King Day, Veteran’s Day, and Christmas, and employees with one-year seniority would receive an additional nine vacation days per year, as well as a ratification bonus and one-year anniversary bonus for employees.
American Axle, which produces axles for the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra — both built at GM’s Flint Assembly plant — has generated $8.4 billion in profits for GM over the last decade, according to the UAW. Over that time, the company’s CEO has been paid $111 million, with the top five executives receiving nearly $231 million in compensation.
“This contract will change lives in Three Rivers and across southwest Michigan,” Jager said. “I am damn proud of this agreement, and I am damn proud to be a member of UAW Local 2093.”
Local 2093 members are expected to vote on the tentative agreement in the coming days.
View UAW Local 2093’s bargaining update below.