Fain says company is reneging on product investment commitments; UAW will seek strike authorization

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The United Auto Workers awakened from a decades-long slumber last year and became a force to be reckoned with at the bargaining table. Under the new leadership of UAW President and Kokomo native Shawn Fain, the union secured record-breaking gains for its members.

But the promises made at the bargaining table aren’t materializing, the UAW claims, and it is preparing to take action to force Stellantis to honor its contractual commitments. This week, Fain announced to the UAW membership the union’s intention to fight.

The union leader contends that Stellantis is reneging on its contractual obligations to open a MOPAR hub in Belvidere, Ill., this year, along with a stamping plant in the location in 2025, and an assembly plant by 2027. The company shuttered Belvidere’s Jeep assembly plant in March 2023.

“We made damn sure to win not just billions in product and investment commitments,” said Fain. “We fought for and won the right to strike over that product investment and commitments. We did this because we've all seen the Big Three trample on our agreements over the years.

“The companies skirt our agreements by breaking out the dictionary and finding a new word for closing a plant. They claim they weren't closing a plant. They were unallocating it. They claim they're not closing plants, they're just indefinitely idled.”

The company’s position, released in late August, is that “market conditions” are not right for the Belvidere investment at this time.

“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 consumer demands,” the Stellantis release indicated.

Fain, doesn’t accept market conditions as a valid excuse for failing to fulfill the contract, mainly because he doesn’t believe Stellantis is behaving as if it is operating under onerous financial circumstances.

“Where were those market conditions when (Stellantis) CEO Carlos Tavares gave himself a 56 percent raise, making him the highest paid auto executive outside of Tesla?” asked Fain. “Where were those market conditions when the company recently announced it's spending $3 billion this year alone on stock buybacks and another $5 billion on dividends?

“If the market is the problem, how and why is the company announcing 20 new products for the North American market? If the market's the problem, why is the company loading up product in Canada to produce for the U.S. market? We aren't the problem. The market isn't the problem. Carlos Tavares is the problem.”

In support of his claim Fain pointed out that Stellantis currently faces lawsuits from shareholders and suppliers, and even the National Dealers Council for Stellantis has opposed Tavares’ leadership decisions. Fain quoted from the dealers council’s official statement on the matter.

“We did not create this problem,” Fain quoted. “The federal government did not create this problem. The UAW did not create this problem, and your employees did not create this problem. You, Carlos Tavares, created this problem.”

Fain added that Stellantis has yet to act on negotiated commitments for a machining investment in Toledo, Ohio, and has not yet fulfilled its promises to the UAW concerning the StarPlus EV battery facilities under construction in Kokomo.

Instead, Stellantis announced last week that it intends to move production of the Dodge Durango to Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

“They want you to think a better life isn't possible, so you won't fight for it. They want you to sit down, to shut up, and accept whatever scraps they're willing to give you.” - UAW International President Shawn Fain

Considering that the company is not responding to the UAW’s calls to fulfill the contract, refusing to even meet with the union, Fain claimed, the UAW filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Stellantis, and the union intends to ask certain locals to take a strike authorization vote in the coming days.

“What the billionaire class fears is letting working class people think that we can win,” said Fain. “What they want is for all of us to give up. They want you to think a better life isn't possible, so you won't fight for it. They want you to sit down, to shut up, and accept whatever scraps they're willing to give you.

“Our quality of life and even life expectancy has fallen while billionaires and corporate executives have gotten richer and more powerful. They rigged the economy. They rigged the political system. They rigged the legal system. They attacked our unions and turned us against one another, and in manufacturing, they used the most brutal tool of all, plant closures. The result has been the death of the American dream.

“We're preparing to take actions to enforce our contract and make this company keep the promise they made to the American people, up to and including national strike action if necessary.”

Fain did not disclose which locals will be asked to take a strike authorization vote. He said that the UAW’s Stellantis Council will convene shortly to finalize its plan of attack. Limited strikes were used by the UAW to great effect during the 2023 national contract negotiations, helping to keep the automakers at the bargaining table and agreeing to union demands.

“(The contract) is enforceable by the grievance procedure and by taking strike action, and we intend to enforce it,” said Fain. “The company is trying to intimidate and threaten our members with what could happen if we go on strike. In case of a strike, the company can terminate the contract.

“Don't misinterpret or be scared by that language. All that means is that we enter a status quo period where any changes must be negotiated, just like when we worked under an expired contract during our stand-up strike. The company wants you to be scared. We are 100 percent within our rights and within our power to take strike action if necessary.”

A union official from UAW Local 685, representing workers in Kokomo, declined to be identified and declined comment on the matter, awaiting official statements from the international or local unions concerning the potential impact on Kokomo.