UAW urges adoption of Axle deal to angry workers

[Earth Bound Misfit]

Looks like the UAW took ANOTHER hit... :spank:

Source: Yahoo! News

United Auto Workers officials on Sunday urged American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc workers to ratify a contract that would cut wages by almost 40 percent, shutter three plants and end a three-month-old strike with a subsidy of $218 million from General Motors Corp.

Some 3,650 UAW-represented workers, including almost 1,900 in Detroit, will vote this week on a four-year contract that would cut hourly pay to between $10 and $26 and offer payments of up to $105,000 over three years for workers who remain.

American Axle, which relies on GM for almost 80 percent of its revenue, would also provide buyouts of up to $140,000 for workers who leave the payroll.

--snip--

At a stormy meeting in Detroit on Sunday, UAW officials made a grudging case for the proposed American Axle deal -- revealing details of the proposed contract to hundreds of angry and disgruntled workers who must now decide whether to approve it.

--snip--

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger told American Axle workers he understood their frustration with the contract the union's leadership was urging them to approve but also stressed that a better deal could not be reached.

"Nobody (on the bargaining team) is proud of what we've presented to you," Gettelfinger told workers who had assembled at a Detroit high school, according to a person who attended the meeting.

Some UAW workers interrupted with shouts of "Vote it down!" while others left expressing frustration that American Axle had only moved slightly from its bargaining position when the strike began in February.

"Your fight is not with the people up here," Gettelfinger told the workers, according to a witness.

Full story : http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080518/us_nm/americanaxle_dc_4