United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain took his moment in the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention Monday night to call out Stellantis, which Fain says is trying to back out of reopening an assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois.
Fain made his comments during his speech in Chicago, which is about 80 miles from the Belvidere plant.
According to a statement issued by the UAW, locals representing tens of thousands of workers under the national UAW Stellantis agreement are prepared to file grievances over what it calls the company’s “failure to keep its investment commitments and honor the union contract.” The union says this could pave the way for a national strike at Stellantis, if necessary.
Since ratification, the union says the company has gone back on its product commitments at Belvidere, and has been unreceptive in talks with the union to stay on track.
The statement says this also impacts Stellantis members nationally, as they will not have those jobs for transfer opportunities in the event of layoffs.
Reuters reports that Stellantis has confirmed it had notified the union that plans for the Belvidere factory will be delayed, but says it will stand by its commitments.
The language of the grievance filed is as follows:
“The Company has informed the Union that 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. The Company’s failure to plan for, fund and launch these programs constitute a violation of the U.S. Investment letter in the P&M and OC&E Collective Bargaining Agreements. During 2023 National Negotiations the parties agreed to the investment plan for Belvidere to address job security concerns impacting bargaining unit members throughout the entire system. The Company’s failure to honor its commitments in the U.S. Investment letter is a serious concern to all bargaining unit members.
Demand: The Union demands that the Company rescind its decision to push back the above-referenced launches and immediately plan for and fund the Belvidere investments in order to comply with the agreed upon timeline for launching the Belvidere Mega Hub (2024), the Belvidere Stamping operation (2025) and Belvidere midsize truck production (2027).”