For Striking Factory Workers, U.S.-First Pledge Falls Flat

The Washington Post reports:

American Axle and Manufacturing employees viewed their boss Richard E. Dauch as a hero. He bet against the odds when he led a group of investors who bought five decrepit auto parts plants 14 years ago. An outspoken champion of American manufacturing, he backed his words by pouring $3 billion into modernizing the old factories. The strapping Dauch often walked the assembly line, stopping to arm-wrestle employees or to ask about their children.

But times are changing, and Dauch is reneging on a critical part of the wager. The America-first chief executive says he can no longer afford the $73 an hour his employees cost. Without worker concessions, he said American Axle's five major U.S plants could be forced to close.

His employees aren't buying it. They walked out Feb. 26 after rejecting the company's demands that the union said would cut wages in half. The job action has idled not only the 3,650 striking employees but also tens of thousands of workers in related industries. "This is not a trivial effect," said Brian A. Bethune, an economist with Global Insight.

Beyond the immediate economic impact, the strike raises uncomfortable questions about the future of the best-paying factory jobs in the United States. As high-quality manufacturing is increasingly done more cheaply and efficiently from Mexico to India, the U.S. advantage that Dauch promoted as the main factor justifying higher American wages has eroded, taking salaries with it.