UAW ratifies deal, ends strike at key GM axle supplier Dauch
The United Auto Workers strike at Dauch Corp.'s Three Rivers plant is officially over after the local union chapter ratified a new contract with the key General Motors Co. truck axle supplier.
About 80% of UAW Local 2093 members voted to approve the new four-year deal that will increase top pay for union-represented workers to $30 an hour by 2030 from $22 now, according to the union. Negotiators have cast the outcome as a victory after holding firm to wage and health care demands.
"I am damn proud of this agreement, and I am damn proud to be a member of UAW Local 2093," Josh Jager, UAW Local 2093 bargaining chair, said after a tentative deal was reached on Wednesday.
Nearly 1,000 workers at the plant in southwest Michigan walked out on June 1, demanding better wages, more time off, and no increases in their health insurance costs. Major politicians and political candidates including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed had visited the picket line.
The agreement met those key demands, according to Jager. The deal also includes a $2,000 ratification bonus and a $1,000 bonus after the first year.
If it had stretched on, the walkout could have severely affected GM pickup production. Detroit-headquartered Dauch, formerly known as American Axle, makes axles and other parts at the plant that primarily go into several GM truck models.
"We are pleased that UAW Local 2093 at our Three Rivers Manufacturing Facility has ratified a new, four-year collective bargaining agreement," Dauch spokesperson Chris Son said in a statement.
UAW officials said during the strike that workers at the plant had made major sacrifices in 2008 during the Great Recession to save the facility, including taking cuts in pay from as much as $29 an hour to $14.50.
Nearly two decades later, the union said workers still lagged far behind in their compensation, with the current wage scale topping out at $22 after a five-year progression. In general, wages for auto supply workers in Michigan and nationally tend to trail pay for vehicle assembly workers employed directly by major automakers.
Under the new deal, workers hired at the plant before the 2008 pay cut will receive an immediate bump to $30 an hour, rather than a gradual increase over the life of the contract.
The agreement comes at a busy time for the UAW more broadly, as the organization begins its 2026 Constitutional Convention in downtown Detroit.
Close to 1,000 members will attend as the influential union looks to chart its future and nominate candidates for leadership elections later this year - including challengers to President Shawn Fain.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 3:20 PM.