American Axle workers make do on strike pay in Three Rivers

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/04/striking_families_support_each.html

by Chris Killian | Special to the Gazette
Sunday April 13, 2008, 9:30 AM



Jennifer Harnish | Kalamazoo GazetteStriking UAW member Kevin Bushouse sits at home with his children (from left) Courtney Shears, 16, Devin Bushouse, 11, and Emma Bushouse, 5, Thursday. The American Axle & Manufacturing Holding Inc. employee has been on strike since Feb. 26 and worries about the financial impact a prolonged strike could have on his family.

THREE RIVERS -- By any definition, the Bushouse family has been blessed.

Their cozy, two-story home in downtown Three Rivers has a hot tub and above-ground pool. In the driveway are a 2002 Chevy Silverado pickup truck, a 2004 Ford Excursion and two 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycles. They own a large flat-screen television, Nintendo Wii and handheld video games for their three daughters, two of whom have cell phones.

But many of the Bushouse family's creature comforts could soon disappear.
This is a union household, whose patriarch, Kevin Bushouse, is one of about 750 employees of United Auto Workers Local 2093 who walked off the job seven weeks ago on strike against proposed cuts in wages and benefits by their employer, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

"We're not doing that bad right now, but if this strike continues into May, we could start to be in pretty rough shape," Bushouse said. "I saw the strike coming, so we started to plan for it."

Every week, Kevin, 38, receives $200 in strike pay from the UAW, a far cry from the $1,400 he grossed per week while working as a job setter at the Three Rivers plant, where he's been for nine years. His wife, Anna, works as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic in town, bringing home much-needed income.

FULL story at link.