UAW's Shawn Fain says union plans to hold strike authorization votes against Stellantis over contract commitments
(CBS DETROIT) - United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain says the union plans to hold strike authorization votes against Stellantis, claiming the automaker failed to uphold contract commitments made in 2023.
In a Tuesday live stream, Fain says the votes are planned at one or more Stellantis locals. While the union would typically call for a strike due to a contract ending, the union won the right to strike over product and investment commitments through a bargaining agreement in 2023.
"We sure not going to turn around and just let Stellantis violate our agreement and destroy thousands of good blue-collar jobs in America. The right to strike over product investment is new to the UAW," Fain said. "If we want to win this fight, we need to be educated, organized, and above all, united as we take action."
On Monday, the UAW filed federal unfair labor practice charges against the automaker for allegedly planning to move production of the Dodge Durango outside of the United States to Canada. Production is currently at the Detroit Assembly Complex.
Fain says the move would "kill thousands of jobs in America, and it is a flagrant violation of our contract."
Fain also called out Stellantis for allegedly delaying the reopening of the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. The plant sat idle last 2023, but under the contract agreement, the automaker pledged to reopen the facility.
In August 2024, the UAW threatened to go on strike over the delay, saying that Stellantis has been "unreceptive" to discussions about staying on track to open Belvidere.
"We are 100% within our rights and within out power to take strike action if necessary," Fain said on Tuesday.
More than a dozen UAW locals filed grievances against Stellantis, which has a 14-brand portfolio that includes Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Fiat, and Maserati.
Stellantis responded to Fain's speech:
"Like all our competitors, Stellantis is attempting to carefully manage how and when we launch new products in an electric vehicle market that is still highly volatile. Our focus remains on offering consumers affordable multi-energy vehicles while ensuring our future sustainability, which are necessary to protect U.S. manufacturing jobs. The commitments we made during 2023 negotiations span the life of the 4-year, 7 ½-month agreement, so it is not surprising that they haven't been fully realized in the first year. And to be clear, Shawn Fain's claim that the company has confirmed plans for the Dodge Durango is simply not true. The company has confirmed no such thing. However, Shawn Fain continues to allege that the company has violated the contract, but to date has provided no data or information to back up his claims. Instead, he continues to willfully damage the reputation of the company with his public attacks which is helpful to no one including his members. We would all be better served if these issues were addressed across the table with productive, respectful and forward-looking dialogue. A strike does not benefit anyone – our customers, our dealers, the community and, most importantly, our employees."