Nearly 1,000 members of UAW Local 2093 walked off the job at Dauch Corporation’s Three Rivers plant in Michigan after their contract expired at midnight on June 1. Formerly American Axle, Dauch’s website states that the facility specializes in driveline products and systems, including front and rear axle manufacturing.
The Detroit Free Press reported that the factory makes axles for General Motors’ GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado pickup trucks, which the automaker assembles in Flint, Michigan. Reuters added that Three Rivers also supplies a GM site in Wentzville, Missouri, that produces midsize trucks and commercial vans.
According to Reuters’ sources, GM has roughly two weeks’ worth of axle supplies available to continue production. The report noted that the union has observed approximately 250 salaried employees entering the Michigan plant to manufacture axles.
A GM spokesperson told Automotive Design & Manufacturing (ADM) that the company is “closely monitoring the situation” at the Dauch plant but declined to comment on axle inventory or how the strike would impact operations.
The UAW said workers at Dauch accepted a 50% pay cut during the Great Recession in 2008 to help keep the Three Rivers facility open, with some hourly wages decreasing to $14.50. The union added that wages at the factory currently top out at $22 per hour.
Prior to the vote to authorize a strike, a union spokesperson told ADM that the top issues in negotiations include fair wages, job security, better health care, profit sharing, more paid time off, stronger retirement security and eliminating tiered pay structures.
Dauch reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $75.3 million and swung to a full-year net loss of $19.7 million in 2025, compared to a $35 million profit in 2024. However, it generated nearly $412 million in cash from operations and $213 million in adjusted free cash flow in 2025.
The UAW and Dauch have not responded to ADM’s request for comment.
