UAW to strike at key General Motors truck supplier plant

A strike at American Axle’s Three Rivers plant threatened to jolt General Motors’ pickup truck supply chain, with nearly 1,000 United Auto Workers members set to walk at midnight after talks failed to produce a new contract by the May 31 deadline.

The plant, the largest American Axle facility in Michigan, makes driveline parts and axles used in GM pickup trucks, a position that gives UAW Local 2093 unusual leverage. Any prolonged disruption there could ripple beyond the factory floor, squeezing GM truck output, tightening dealership inventories and adding pressure to vehicle prices if parts flow slows.

Workers had already made clear they were prepared to stop production. In the run-up to the deadline, 98% of nearly 1,000 employees voted to authorize a strike, backing union leaders who said they were seeking a fair contract after years of concessions. American Axle, also known as American Axle & Manufacturing and the Dauch Corporation, employs unionized workers who remember the 2008 crisis, when the plant stayed open after major wage cuts that some workers said reached as much as half.

That history has become central to the bargaining fight. Union members have argued that the sacrifices they made during the Great Recession should be reflected in a better deal now, especially as the company pursues a $132.9 million upgrade project at the Three Rivers facility. A 2025 state memo said the plant had about 1,100 workers and that American Axle was planning new machinery and building-system improvements to keep the operation competitive in a difficult automotive market.

The stakes extend beyond General Motors. American Axle is also a supplier to Stellantis and Nissan, which means the labor dispute has implications well outside one automaker’s pickup line. GM said it was closely monitoring the situation and assessing the potential impact, underscoring how dependent its truck business remains on a small number of specialized suppliers.

For the United Auto Workers, the strike is more than a local contract fight. It is a test of how much power organized labor can still exert in a manufacturing system that remains vulnerable to a single weak link. At Three Rivers, that link is American Axle, and for GM’s truck business, it is one of the most consequential supplier plants in the Midwest.