The eighth-longest strike ever for the United Automobile Workers union ended Thursday as workers at American Axle and Manufacturing approved a four-year contract that the U.A.W.?s president had described as subpar but ?the best we can do.? Under the deal, about 3,650 workers at auto parts plants in New York and Michigan, who had been on strike for 87 days, will earn an average of $10 an hour less. The workers can choose either to take a buyout of up to $140,000 and leave, or to stay and receive three annual ?buydown? payments totaling as much as $105,000 aimed at helping them adjust to the lower wages. Those who are eligible will also be offered the possibility of early retirement which includes a $55,000 payment.
See "Auto Parts Workers Approve a Contract", Nick Bunkley, The New York Times, May 22, 2008