DETROIT (WXYZ) — United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is vowing to take action against Stellantis, up to and including a national strike action, if the company does not honor the investments that the automaker promised in the new collective bargaining agreement.
During a Facebook Live stream to members, Fain accused the company of trying to push investment into the Belvidere, Illinois plant until after the life of the current contract, which would mean any investment would need to be renegotiated in the next negotiations. He says the way the company is being run is leading them to down this course.
"We aren't the problem, the market isn't the problem. (Stellantis' CEO Carlos Tarvares is the problem, and it isn't just us saying it. Stellantis is currently being sued by their own shareholders. They're being sued by their suppliers. They are facing a national strike action from the UAW and even Stellantis' dealer network is sounding the alarm," Fain said during the stream.
The union and some of their locals filed grievances about the contentions. Fain said the union would be holding strike authorization votes at several locals "in the coming days."
Stellantis issued the following statement Tuesday after the Facebook Live:
"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."
