Detroit, MI
Detroit Axle workers OK possible strike with contract expiring next week
The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City
Here are some facts about Detroit’s auto industry.
UAW members at Detroit Axle have voted to OK a strike.
The union said in a news release that workers on Wednesday “had voted by a resounding 99% to authorize a strike if necessary.”
Workers produce front and rear axles as well as transmissions for Daimler Truck, and one of the main issues is pay disparity.
Detroit Diesel workers are in the same plant and make $10 more an hour “for the same assembly work,” according to a union video, accusing the company of using “divide and conquer” tactics. The workers are represented by UAW Local 163.
A union flyer says the top assembler wages for Detroit Axle workers in January 2024 were $24.50 per hour, while wages at Detroit Diesel were $34.62 per hour in January 2024 and are set to increase to $36.83 per hour in June 2027.
Anja Weinert, a spokeswoman for parent company Daimler Truck North America, provided a statement highlighting the vote as part of the negotiating process:
“We would like to clarify that the recent vote was a preauthorization vote and is part of the normal negotiations process. The current contract remains in effect until next Friday, Jan. 24, at 11:59 p.m. We are optimistic about reaching a negotiated agreement.”
The company said there are about 400 employees in the bargaining unit.
The company in December announced a $285 million investment at the complex. That project, which garnered incentives of more than $30 million in state grant funding and a tax abatement, was to enhance current production and equip the plant to make electric components for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks.
The investment was promoted as creating up to 436 jobs and preserving about 2,000 more at the facility in Redford Township and Detroit that supplies parts for the Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses vehicle platforms.
A 2023 company news release said the operation dates to 1938 and the formation by General Motors of the GM Diesel Division. Detroit Diesel Corp. was formed in 1988 and acquired by Daimler in 2000.
The company at the time said the operation had produced 1.1 million heavy-duty engines and had almost 3,000 Daimler Truck employees in Detroit.
Laura Dickerson, UAW Region 1A director, said in the union release that “since 2020, Daimler has seen over $17 billion in profits. Daimler can afford to provide UAW members at Detroit Axle what every worker deserves: pay that keeps up with inflation, a safe workplace and a secure retirement. If it takes a fight to win that, our members are ready.”
Zachary Harper, a committeeperson at Detroit Axle, said in the release that “this overwhelming vote shows we are no longer content with the crumbs from Daimler’s pie.”
The contract fight in Detroit follows successful negotiations between the union and company last year.
In May, UAW members at Daimler Truck plants in the South approved a new four-year contract with the company.
That agreement, which covers more than 7,000 workers, averted a strike and included raises of more than 25% and the introduction of profit-sharing and cost-of-living adjustments as it ends a tiered wage system at the truck maker, according to the union.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
Detroit, MI
Bruce Campbell announces cancer diagnosis; ‘Fear not,’ he tells fans
Treatment will delay the Royal Oak-born actor’s plans to tour his new film ‘Ernie & Emma’ this summer.
Royal Oak-born movie star and cult hero Bruce Campbell announced on social media on Monday that he has been diagnosed cancer — a type that is “treatable” but not “curable,” he said.
“I apologize if that’s a shock — it was to me too,” the “Evil Dead” star, 67, wrote in a message posted to Instagram.
He went on to say “I’m not gonna go into any more detail,” and he didn’t. He said the public announcement had to do with scaling back appearances on his schedule, including tour dates behind his latest film, “Ernie & Emma.”
Campbell planned to show the movie June 5 at the Redford Theatre; as of Monday night, that date is still on the Redford schedule, but Campbell wrote in his note he plans to get “as well as I possibly can over the summer so that I can tour with my new movie ‘Ernie & Emma’ this fall.”
The movie is written, directed by and stars Campbell as a man who goes on a journey following the death of his wife. Campbell produced the movie alongside his wife, Ida Gearon, and filmed it in Oregon, where he now lives.
Campbell told The News in January he dedicated “Ernie & Emma” to his childhood moviemaking pals, including Scott Spiegel, who died of a heart attack in September 2025.
“It’s a callback to the carefree days of Super 8, where we could do whatever the f–k we wanted to do,” Campbell said of “Ernie & Emma.” “So I thought, ‘All the boys are responsible for this,’ so they’re all in there.”
Campbell got his start making movies around Metro Detroit with his childhood pal, Sam Raimi. Campbell starred in Raimi’s “Evil Dead” trilogy and has since appeared in most of Raimi’s films; Campbell makes a brief appearance in a photograph in the background of an early scene in Raimi’s latest, “Send Help.”
He’s also an author; Campbell’s autobiography “If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor” was published in 2001.
In his post on social media, Campbell thanked fans and said he was not out to elicit sympathy.
“Fear not, I am a tough old son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around for a while,” he wrote.
agraham@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Michigan State Police sends message to drivers after trooper involved in hit and run:
“Slow down and move over” is the message that Michigan State Police is sending to drivers after one of its troopers in a parked patrol car was struck while investigating a crash this weekend. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene.
Michigan State Police tells CBS News Detroit that we’re two months into the year, and it has had six incidents across the state where patrol cars were struck by oncoming vehicles. One of those incidents occurred on Sunday evening.
“Could have been much more tragic,” said MSP Lieutenant Rene Gonzalez, First District public information officer.
Gonzalez says on Sunday, an MSP trooper was near M-10 and Schaefer Highway in Detroit, simply doing his job, when his patrol car was hit from behind.
“Trooper was out there, and he was investigating a crash when, at the time, a Jeep SUV drove into the rear of the parked vehicle,” Gonzalez said.
The impact slid the trooper’s car into a concrete wall. The 29-year-old Detroit woman driving the Jeep SUV struck the center median, got out of the vehicle, and ran away.
“Not sure why they did it. Maybe not paying attention if they were distracted. They’re attempting to locate her at this time,” said Lt. Gonzalez.
The trooper walked away with minor injuries. Gonzalez says this incident is an example of why Michigan’s Move Over Law was put in place many years ago. The law, which went into effect in 2019, requires drivers to move over into the next lane and reduce their speed by at least 10 mph when emergency or service vehicles — police, fire, rescue, ambulance and road service — have their lights activated.
Drivers who are not able to move over are still required to reduce their speed.
“Trying to do our jobs, however, people are not paying attention. The law is easy. It’s simple. You see us, you see our lights activated, you have to slow down ten miles below the posted speed limit, and then if able, move over to the next occupied available lane,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez says crashes like this can be deadly and often avoided.
“One life lost over something that was a totally preventable crash, it’s way too much. We’re asking that you slow down and move over when you see our lights. It’s a simple message that we’ve been pushing out for years,” he said.
Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. Michigan State Police detectives are still working to track down the 29-year-old suspect.
In the meantime, police are out enforcing the Move Over Law.
Detroit, MI
Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit
The impact and history of autos in Detroit, The Motor City
Here are some facts about Detroit’s auto industry.
Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.
“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”
Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.
And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”
Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”
From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.
Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.
The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.
Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
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