Last year, United Auto Workers Union President Shawn Fain joined President Joe Biden in Belvidere to celebrate a new contract to re-open their idled assembly plant.
On Thursday, Aug. 22, Fain returned to meet with UAW Local 1268 members after Stellantis announced it intends to delay the projects.
“Market conditions didn't do this," Fain told the room. "Corporate greed is what's doing this. We are not the problem. Corporate greed is the problem."
The union has filed a grievance, claiming Chrysler's parent company is breaking promises it made in last year’s contract negotiations.
The contract included a commitment of nearly $5 billion to re-open the plant, which has been idled since February 2023. But now it's up in the air.
Dean Fidder has worked at the plant for almost 30 years. He wasn’t surprised to hear Stellantis wanted to delay its investment in Belvidere.
“In the 28 years I worked there, it's always been 'on again, off again,'" he said. "They worked the dog crap out of you and then six months later, they're laying you off."
He says the stress of not working is astronomical, including the stress of trying to support a family on Supplemental Unemployment Benefits. He adds that in his case, there's also the stress of being so close to retirement, but he can’t.
In a statement, Stellantis says their contract with UAW allows them to modify investments due to market conditions and that the union can’t legally strike.
The UAW says market conditions aren’t to blame, because other major automakers aren’t seeing the sales slide Stellantis is and point to a 56% raise Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares received this year, bringing his salary up to nearly $40 million per year.
Fain says their goal is not to strike, but they will if they have to.
UAW workers and leadership also decried unsafe working conditions. 53-year-old UAW worker Antonio Gaston was killed at an Ohio Jeep plant on Wednesday. Fain says they're investigating the accident.
