UAW local chapters announced they could vote to strike Stellantis, as they say the automaker violated its 2023 bargaining agreement.
After weeks of strikes in 2023, the United Auto Workers union and Stellantis reached an agreement to reopen the company’s idled Belvidere, Illinois plant, with operations ramping up into 2025 and beyond. Now, though, the union announced a number of its local chapters representing Stellantis workers would file grievances, saying “the company has gone back on its commitments and drive a race to the bottom at the expense of the American worker.”
Specifically, the grievances home in on the actions it told the union it would take as part of a new labor agreement. Stellantis agreed, as part of the new labor contract, to invest $3.2 billion into a new battery plant, and invest $1.5 billion in a new midsize truck plant, creating 5,000 additional jobs in the area by 2028. The Belvidere facility formerly manufactured the Jeep Cherokee, until the automaker stopped production of that model in early 2023.
Update 8/20: Stellantis gave its response to the United Auto Workers Tuesday. That statement is included below.
As part of the grievance it plans to file, the UAW says of Stellantis: “The Company has informed the Union that it will not launch the Belvidere Consolidated Mopar Mega Hub in 2024, it will not begin stamping operations for the Belvidere Mega Hub in 2025 and it will not begin production of a midsize truck in Belvidere in 2027. The Company’s failure to plan for, fund and launch these programs constitute a violation of the U.S. Investment letter in the P&M and OC&E Collective Bargaining Agreements. During 2023 National Negotiations the parties agreed to the investment plan for Belvidere to address job security concerns impacting bargaining unit members throughout the entire system. The Company’s failure to honor its commitments in the U.S. Investment letter is a serious concern to all bargaining unit members.”
The UAW is demanding that Stellantis stick to its original schedule, ramping up operations in Belvidere this year to include building the as-yet unrevealed midsize truck by 2027. UAW President Shawn Fain, in the union’s statement, says this alleged breach of the agreement imperils not just workers at Belvidere, but others at Stellantis plants nationwide.
Under the union’s new contract with Stellantis, the grievance process is the first step toward authorizing a strike. “UAW Stellantis members are prepared to take action if necessary,” the UAW said in its statement Monday.
At time of writing, Stellantis has not made public comment on the UAW’s filing or its demands. Update 8/20: Stellantis offered its response to “UAW allegations”. To the UAW’s complaints, Stellantis responded with a written statement Tuesday: “To ensure the Company’s future competitiveness and sustainability, which are necessary to preserve U.S. manufacturing jobs, it is critical that the business case for all investments is aligned with market conditions and our ability to accommodate a wide range of consumder demands. Therefore, the Company confirms it has notified the UAW that plans for Belvidere will be delayed, but firmly stands by its commitment.”
Stellantis denies it violated the terms of the 2023 Investment Letter, saying it “strongly objects” to the UAW’s grievances. “In fact,” the automaker continues, “the UAW agreed to language that expressly allows the Company to modify product investments and employment levels. Therefore, the Union cannot legally strike over a violation of this letter at this time.”
In July, the U.S. Department of Energy said it is preparing to award Stellantis $334.8 million to convert its Belvidere facility into an EV manufacturing plant, as well as $250 million to retool its Indiana Transmission Plant in Kokomo to build EV components.
Stellantis has angled to cut costs across its North American operations over the past several months, including laying off as many as 2,450 workers from its Warren Truck Plant as Ram 1500 Classic production drew to a close. It also offered another round of voluntary buyouts to white-collar salaried workers, after it laid off 400 such employees in March and offered two rounds of buyouts last year. In the long-term, its cut roughly 47,500 from its global operations — or nearly 15.5% — between December 2019 (before Stellantis’ formation through the merger of Fiat-Chrysler and Groupe PSA), and CEO Carlos Tavares continued messaging that the automaker would cut whatever is necessary as part of the “Dare Forward Plan” to bring new EVs to market, increase profits and double revenue to 300 billion Euros (or $325 billion) by 2030.
