DETROIT (AP) – United Auto Workers members at a supplier’s plants in Michigan and New York went on strike Thursday after a contract covering 6,500 hourly employees expired.

American Axle & Manufacturing expects to continue contract talks, which began in December, company spokeswoman Carrie Gray said.

The previous four-year contract expired Wednesday.

Talks stalled over whether the company could close plants at will, as well as how much money it should put into a supplemental fund for unemployed or laid-off workers, said Wendy Thompson, president of UAW Local 235, which represents workers in Detroit.

Gray said she couldn’t talk about issues being discussed in contract negotiations.

She said it wasn’t immediately clear how the company’s operations would be affected by the strike or how many workers were participating.

Five workers on a picket line in Detroit were arrested for disorderly conduct, police said.

Spun off from General Motors Corp. in 1994, American Axle builds axles, gears, drivelines and related products. The strike includes workers at plants in Detroit and Three Rivers; and Buffalo, Tonawanda and Cheektowaga, N.Y.

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On the Net:

American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.: http://www.aam.com

United Auto Workers: http://www.uaw.org

AP-ES-02-26-04 1422EST