UAW demands Stellantis to uphold contract promises with rally in Sterling Heights
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - The United Auto Workers rallied outside the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant on Friday, demanding Stellantis to "keep the promise."
Union leaders and members stood outside the facility on Van Dyke Avenue, calling on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to uphold commitments established in the contract ratified by the UAW in Nov. 2023 – after one of the biggest strikes in UAW history that lasted about six weeks.
On Monday, UAW locals representing Stellantis workers filed grievances with the company over a failure to honor the contract.
In a release, the UAW emphasized that the rally was for informational purposes, and not a picketing strike. None of the participants halted their work duties to take part in the rally.
"Once the grievance procedure is exhausted under the national contract, the union may authorize a strike," according to the UAW.
The agreement between the UAW and Stellantis included getting the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois running again, and reinvesting in it, after it was indefinitely shut down in late Feb 2023.
But this week, Stellantis announced it would not be able to meet the anticipated timeline to reopen the facility, delaying all of the plant's operations.
"It’s a very serious, serious allegation we’re charging them with right now. They're not fulfilling the commitments to the investments not just here in Michigan, but specifically in Belvedere," said Luigi Gjokaj with UAW Local 51.
Stellantis also temporarily laid off workers for the week of Aug. 19 at its Trenton plant to balance inventories, according to the company.
In Warren, up to 2,450 Stellantis union workers will be offered layoffs.
"The Ram 1500 Classic has been a great entry point pickup for Ram and the Tradesman model has well represented the needs of commercial truck customers for years. We introduced the new 2025 Ram 1500 Tradesman with incredible value and content. The upgraded electrical architecture allows new technologies useful to commercial fleets for better tracking and improved safety systems such as Forward Collision Warning Plus and Adaptive Cruise Control. Additionally, the available Hurricane Straight Six Turbo engine provides greater fuel efficiency, vital to lowering total cost of ownership. The new platform also offers more electrification opportunities with the Ram REV and Ramcharger variants that otherwise wouldn’t have been available, enabling future compliance. With the introduction of the new Ram 1500, production of the Ram 1500 Classic at the Warren (Michigan) Truck Assembly Plant will come to an end later this year. As a result, Stellantis announced today that the plant will move from a two-shift to a one-shift operating pattern in General Assembly. Other operations within the plant will remain on two shifts to support Jeep® Wagoneer production. All concerned parties will be notified as required by law,' Stellantis said in statement.
Tavares, Stellantis' CEO, had a planned visit to the Sterling Heights Plant on Friday.
So, "we figured we’d give him a warm Michigan UAW welcome," Gjokaj said.
"The company has not violated the commitments made in the investment letter included in the 2023 UAW collective bargaining agreement and strongly objects to the union’s accusations," according to Stellantis. "In fact, the UAW agreed to language that expressly allows the company to modify product investments and employment levels. Therefore, the union cannot legally strike over a violation of this letter at this time."
SHAP released the following statement:
"SHAP progress review took place as planned. We thank the SHAP team for the significant progress that has been made over the past few months."
