UAW warns of national strike possibility over Stellantis commitments in Belvidere

The UAW says union locals representing tens of thousands of workers are prepared to file grievances over Stellantis' failure to keep its product commitments in Belvidere, Illinois, and is threatening the possibility of a national strike against the owner of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat.

The grievance states that the company has informed the union "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," according to a news release. That, the union said, would equate to a violation of last year's collective bargaining agreement between the union and the company. The UAW struck Stellantis as well as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors during contract talks last year.

The union noted that it won the right to strike over product and investment commitments as well as a deal to reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in its agreement with Stellantis. The status of Belvidere had been a major issue during the talks, and an agreement to restart the plant was seen as a major union victory.

“This company made a commitment to autoworkers at Stellantis in our union contract, and we intend to enforce that contract to the full extent," UAW President Shawn Fain said in the release. “On behalf of autoworkers everywhere, we’re standing up against a company that wants to go back on its commitments and drive a race to the bottom at the expense of the American worker.”

Fain narrated a video posted last week on social media that blasted the company for "putting the brakes" on the Belvidere reopening and pointed to CEO Carlos Tavares as the problem at the automaker, which has seen a significant sales slide since last year as well as a drop in profits.

The Free Press has asked company representatives for comment on both the video and the grievances, which, the union said, could be filed by UAW Local 12 (Toledo Assembly in Ohio); Local 140 (Warren Truck); Local 1700 (Sterling Heights AssemblyI); Local 7 (Detroit Assembly Complex – Jefferson); Local 51 (Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack); Local 685 (Kokomo Transmission in Indiana); and Local 1166 (Kokomo Casting), among others.

"Aside from the impact on Belvidere, this glaring violation of the contract imperils all of the other investment commitments the company has made, and also impacts Stellantis members nationally, as they will not have those jobs for transfer opportunities in the event of layoffs," the union said in its release, noting that after the issue follows the grievance procedure, a strike could be authorized.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW says Stellantis isn't keeping commitments so strike is possible