Dana, UAW workers agree on deal
3-year contract includes pay raises
6/6/2014Dana Holding Corp. has reached a new three-year contract with 2,500 employees represented by the United Auto Workers, including about 730 in Ohio and Michigan.
UAW said the new contracts provide wage increases for all workers and narrows the gap between veteran workers and more recent hires. The union also said pensions were improved, while health-care plans are unchanged.
A nearly identical agreement was reached with United Steelworkers-represented employees.
“This agreement continues the progress workers made three years ago in historic bargaining between the UAW, USW, and the Dana Corporation,” UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada said in a statement. “We have continued to close the wage gap between those workers who were hired after the Dana bankruptcy, while recognizing and rewarding those dedicated workers who successfully carried Dana through bankruptcy.”
Dana emerged from federal bankruptcy protection in 2008 after a two-year reorganization.
Jeff Cole, a spokesman for Dana, said there are 10 plants covered under the UAW contract and another six covered under the USW contract. That includes a plant in Lima, where about 400 UAW employees build heavy-duty driveshafts. The company has two plants in Michigan. A plant in St. Clair employs about 200 people making thermal management products, and a facility in Auburn Hills employs about 130 people who build driveshafts.
“Dana’s pleased to continue the positive labor relations climate and stability of supply,” Mr. Cole said. The UAW said the contract was “overwhelmingly” approved by its membership.
— Tyrel Linkhorn