When the United Autoworkers union initiated a strike at five American Axle & Manufacturing plants February 26, there was little indication of the impact 3,650 workers might have on the automotive industry — and General Motors in particular. One early analysis depicted a glass-half-full scenario, as GM had stepped up truck production in January, allegedly because truck sales were rising, not because it expected a strike.

The latest count has as many as 30 GM plants idled or slowed. Some Chrysler operations may yet be affected, and various automotive supply chain members may be swept along, too. The union and American Axle aren't even talking now, which only prolongs what has been a noticeably tense "dialog" — and a problem that is set to take off into new territory. (UPDATE: On March 13, an American Axle spokeswoman announced the negotiations had resumed.)

From the earliest hours of the strike, American Axle has been arguing aggressively about labor costs in U.S. automaking – a subject that has been discussed before, of course, and been the cause of many strikes. The Big Three automakers faced it last year, but they made it through 2007 with new labor contracts in place, and effectively offloaded the big issue by parking their pension and benefits obligations into “voluntary employees beneficiary associations, or VEBAs.

Now comes the matter of resolving these same problems for the rest of the automotive supply chain. American Axle contends its “all-in” labor cost is $73.48/hour per union worker — and that this figure is approximately three times what its domestic competitors (Dana Corp., and Ford and Chrysler’s captive axle-producing divisions) are paying union workers.

Note that Dana recently exited bankruptcy, with a new labor contract, of course, and Ford and Chrysler workers are covered by those companies’ recent UAW deals.

American Axle is comprised mostly of former GM operations that were spun off in the early 1990s, but kept their union workforces. Its chairman and co-founder Richard E. Dauch has cut a high profile, restructuring the organization as a focused, Tier 1 supplier, and expanding it globally. He came out swinging when the strike began:

"The market competitiveness of AAM's labor cost structure in the United States of America is the key issue we are discussing with the UAW. AAM cannot accept terms and conditions that put the company at a significant competitive disadvantage in the U.S. automotive supply industry," Dauch stated, alluding to issues that reach far beyond American Axle and this negotiating impasse.

The specific point of the American Axle position — $73.48/hour — seems like it would be easy to refute if it were not true. But the workers, judging by some Web postings, deeply resent the implication that they’re overpaid, and proudly proclaim their devotion to U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, blue collar values, hard work, and so forth — even as they are fully convinced of the decline of the U.S. middle class. (Dauch’s 2007 salary and bonus and the company’s successful growth overseas, has made this point even more vividly.)

In a political season that has re-legitimized arguments about “corporate greed” and the “betrayal” by companies’ manufacturing overseas, the union side has returned to the no-budging position that was mostly out of sight in last year’s negotiations with the Big Three.

Portraying its labor costs in such a way is a bold first move, but what does American Axle expect to happen? The union cannot forego members’ health care and pension coverage, and chipping away at hourly wages is hardly going to bring American Axle back to a competitive position with its rivals. VEBAs will work for the Big Three, who can afford the initial funding, but that’s not a credible option for smaller companies in the supply chain.

This argument is a stalemate, waiting for new facts to reach a resolution.

Don’t conclude from all their acrimony or obduracy that the American Axle strike is not benefiting various parties. For example, the automakers and their other suppliers now idling production have gained a new detail to explain ongoing losses.

A clear winner is American Axle, which is getting to make a bold, clear argument about labor costs in manufacturing — nearly a textbook case for all those manufacturers who are slowly but surely finding their voices to support a government-run health-care program.

The strike benefits the UAW and its political allies, too: they have regained their bravado, and if it can help build an argument for government-sponsored health-care coverage that would also be a victory because separating this issue would lessen the pressure on union members to concede salary and benefits gains.

Finally, such a resolution would be a boon to all those who argue for greater federal action to “protect” domestic manufacturing against foreign competition. It will be a win-win-win … or so they imagine. They may not appear to be enjoying this strike, but in their misery they've moved considerably closer to where they've wanted to be for a long time.