Stellantis Reneges on the Contract
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One thing Shawn Fain noted in his speech at the DNC on Monday is that Stellantis has reneged on its contract agreement to reopen a closed plant in Illinois. Fain also openly threatened a strike in front of the entire Democratic Party to huge cheers. I hadn’t heard anything about this. Of course Stellantis is freaking out.
Stellantis NV confirmed Tuesday that it will push off reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois while also claiming that the United Auto Workers “cannot legally strike” over the delays.
The maker of Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram vehicles added it “firmly stands by its commitment” to invest in the shuttered facility eventually, but it said it wasn’t feasible now. It did not provide details about a new timeline.
The Stellantis comment follows Monday’s accusation by the union that the company is slow-walking its commitment to reopen the northern Illinois plant, which most recently built the Jeep Cherokee before it was shuttered in early 2023.
The union pledged to fight the delays by filing several grievances against the company, and warned that the process could lead Stellantis members to eventually go on strike. In the contract bargained last fall, the union won the right to strike over plant closings as well as over the company’s product and investment commitments.
UAW President Shawn Fain even raised the issue Monday night during a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, saying Stellantis “must keep the promises they made to America in our union contract” that was signed in 2023.
I wonder how much Stellantis execs are donating to Trump over this, because there’s no way any Democrat is not going to support the UAW striking over this if it comes to it.