UAW, American Axle Reach a Deal

American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. boosted its wage offer and increased the payents it will give workers to take a wage cut as part of a tentative agreement. This could settle an 11 week strike by the United Auto Workers union. They had been offering a pay cut from $28 to $17 per hour for production workers, with a $90,000 wage "buy down" over three years to help workers make the transition to lower pay. The deal has not yet been presented to workers. It includes pay of $18.50 per hour and increases the size of the buy down. The deal is similar to what the UAW agreed to with auto parts maker Delphi Corp. last year.