DETROIT (AP) — As the strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. lingers into its eighth week, workers on the picket line and even the president of the United Auto Workers say the longer they're out, the better the settlement they will expect.

The strike, which has slowed production of General Motors Corp.'s pickup trucks and SUVs and is starting to affect car factories, could drag on even longer.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said during the weekend that the pace of negotiations has been "excruciatingly slow," which he says is the company's strategy.

"We are not close to a settlement," he said Saturday night.

Workers interviewed on the picket lines at American Axle's Detroit complex last week said they wouldn't accept a contract with big concessions after striking for such a long time.

"It would be stupid," said James Keevis, an electrician who has been with American Axle for 13 years. "We'll wait it out."

Workers seemed to know that some givebacks may be coming. Several said they wanted to see the size of buyout offers from the company, and the size of buy-downs in which the company would pay senior workers extra money for a few years as they transition to lower hourly wages.

American Axle has said its total U.S. hourly labor cost including wages and benefits is $73.48 per worker, three times the rate at its domestic competitors. The company initially wanted to cut pay from about $28 per hour to around $14, but 11-year worker Ken Krzycki of Emmett said that's too deep.

"I don't think $14 is going to fly," he said.

Gettelfinger said he understands workers want to see some benefit from the lengthy strike.

"The longer this thing goes on, the more difficult it's going to be to settle it," he said.

American Axle spokeswoman Renee Rogers said Monday that the company is bargaining in good faith. Although talk of a tentative agreement coming soon is premature, she said, there has been movement.

"On Friday and Saturday we made some progress on some things," she said, declining to reveal specifics.

She also denied that American Axle is deliberately slowing the pace of the talks.

"That's interesting since they're the ones that have left the table every time," she said of the union. "We've always been at the table. We've always been ready to negotiate."

As talks continued Monday, GM announced that the strike impact had widened even further. The company said it would cut one of three shifts at an Oshawa, Ontario, factory that makes the Chevrolet Impala and Buick Lacrosse sedans. It also cut production of four-speed car and truck transmissions at a factory in Ypsilanti Township, about 30 miles west of Detroit.

The strike affected production at 30 GM factories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, plus a plant in Indiana owned by AM General that makes Hummers for GM. The factories employ more than 43,000 workers, although not all of them have been laid off. Dozens of other parts suppliers also have been affected.

About 3,600 UAW members have been on strike at American Axle's five U.S. facilities since Feb. 26.

The parts supplier makes axles, drive shafts, stabilizer bars and other components mainly for GM pickups and large sport utility vehicles, but it also makes small brake or suspension parts for GM cars.

So far the strike has had little impact on GM because trucks and SUVs aren't selling well, and GM has ample stock.

But the UAW on Thursday went on strike at a key plant near Lansing that makes the hot-selling Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia large crossover vehicles. It also has threatened to strike a factory in Warren that makes transmissions for just about all GM cars and the Kansas City, Kan., factory that makes the popular new Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

All the GM threats or strikes are over local contract issues. Local plants negotiate their own operating agreements separate from the national contract, which was settled last year. The local contract deals with issues such as overtime and work rules.

The timing of the strike and threats has led some industry analysts to say the UAW is using them to prod GM into pressuring American Axle to settle.

"We typically shy away from conspiracy theories, but it seems all too plausible that the local strikes at GM could be a way for the UAW national leadership to get GM involved in the bitter UAW-American Axle dispute," Himanshu Patel, an industry analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., wrote Monday in a note to investors.

But Gettelfinger and local union leaders maintain that the strike and threats are strictly over local issues that are important to workers. He also said he's optimistic they can be resolved.

"Regardless of what the analysts say, it's about those local issues at the GM facilities," he said. "That's the bottom line."

GM shares rose $1.14, or 5.7 percent, to $21.27 Monday, while American Axle shares fell 41 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $22.34.

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On the Net:

American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.: http://www.aam.com

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

General Motors Corp. http://www.gm.com