UAW could strike Stellantis plants by mid-October over Belvidere delays, plan says

The United Auto Workers has laid out a timeline that could see workers at some Stellantis NV plants go on strike as soon as mid-October if grievances over the automaker’s reopening delays at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois go unresolved.

The planning timeline provided to UAW locals representing Stellantis plants shows an aggressive five-step process that could see workers taking strike authorization votes by Oct. 4, and potentially heading to the picket line sometime after Oct. 18.

The union announced Monday that the automaker isn’t meeting contractual requirements to reopen the plant that it shuttered in early 2023, including its promise to build a midsize pickup there starting in 2027. It argued if Stellantis won’t uphold that commitment, it calls into question billions of dollars of investments that the automaker agreed to at other facilities.

The union said the leaders of several UAW locals, including in Warren, Michigan; Sterling Heights, Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio, individually filed grievances this week over the delays, which also include plans to open a mega parts hub and stamping operation at the plant. If those grievances go unresolved, the union said, it could “pave the way for a national strike at Stellantis.”

On Tuesday, Stellantis confirmed that it planned to delay reopening the plant, citing market conditions and a need to “accommodate a wide range of consumer demands.”

The company said under its contract with the UAW negotiated last year that the union “cannot legally strike” over the Belvidere issue. But the union argues it can, noting that it secured the ability to strike over issues such as plant closures and product commitments in the most recent agreement.

Chief union stewards at several Stellantis plants filed the grievances early this week, and management has five working days to respond. “Plan to appeal IMMEDIATELY at end of day on August 26, 2024 even if you don’t have an official response,” the document states.

Further steps are to include meetings between the plant’s union shop committee and a company union relations supervisor about the grievances, with additional deadlines for responses and appeals by the union. Eventually, by early September, the local union president is to schedule a meeting with the plant manager.

From there, the process could keep escalating until members at the participating plants take a strike authorization vote by Oct. 4. This would allow union leaders to call for a strike.

Finally, union officials and company executives would need to negotiate for at least seven days, with those talks completed by Oct. 18. “If the grievance is not resolved, the local goes on strike,” the timeline states, adding that negotiations would then continue between the company and union until a deal on Belvidere is reached.

The union said it plans to hold a Thursday morning rally in Belvidere “to call on Stellantis to keep the commitment the company made to reopen Belvidere Assembly and invest in thousands of jobs in that community.” Attendees at the Local 1268 union hall will include local and national UAW leaders such as President Shawn Fain and Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell.

Fain said in a Wednesday statement that a key concern for the union is that the company delays reopening the plant until 2028, which is when a new contract with the union will need to be negotiated.

“They say they want to ‘delay’ reopening Belvidere Assembly but they really want to kick the can past our contract expiration so they can suddenly cite ‘market conditions’ again and never open this plant, never repair the damage they’ve done to thousands of autoworkers and their families,” Fain said.

“And it’s not just Belvidere. If they go back on this, what else will they go back on? As the company attacks us with layoffs during the most profitable times, what jobs will those workers have left to transfer into?”

Company executives have argued they are in the midst of a major transition toward electric vehicles, and must be adaptable as customer demand fluctuates. They have noted other automakers are making similar tough decisions about how and where to make investments, including Ford Motor Co., which said Wednesday it would cut EV spending and cancel a planned all-electric three-row SUV.

Stellantis said in its Tuesday statement that “it is critical that the business case for all investments is aligned with market conditions and our ability to accommodate a wide range of consumer demands.” The transatlantic automaker has been struggling more than many of its peers so far this year, posting significant sales and profit declines in the first half as it tries to grapple with a glut of vehicles sitting on dealer lots.

Matt Frantzen, the Local 1268 president representing the Belvidere plant, said on Facebook that if the company is allowed to walk away from Belvidere, “what keeps them from walking away from the remaining investments slated throughout the corporation?” – a total of about $19 billion.

He appeared to question, however, whether a strike might have the desired effect, given Stellantis’ large inventories.

“In my opinion, the company would be fine with a strike right now,” he wrote. “It would help them with their inventory without having to pay us. The International Union Leadership will need to respond strategically to these issues. We will need to be ready for our call to help if needed.”

A company spokesperson declined to comment on the idea that a strike could help Stellantis with its inventory issues.