Almost a year after going on strike, UAW members are back in the public, rallying for jobs and calling out one of the domestic automakers.
Local 4 has seen tensions rise between the UAW and Stellantis. The rank and file are trying to stop Stellantis from eliminating the second shift at its Warren Stamping plant.
That plant is near UAW Local 140, where workers rallied Thursday (Sept. 12) to keep their jobs.
UAW workers rallied at the Local 140 Hall near the Warren Truck Assembly Plant as Stellantis plans to cut 250 jobs.
“This is about some greedy expletive,” said a woman speaking at the strike.
In an open letter this week, Stellantis U.S. Dealer Network criticized the CEO for sales declines and factory production cuts.
“It’s obvious there’s a problem, not just with workers but with the dealer network because they see the same problems and inefficiencies with leadership at this company,” said UAW National President Shawn Fain.
Fain was at Thursday’s rally, underscoring the battle to save manufacturing jobs here in Metro Detroit.
When asked what he wanted to hear from Fain during the protest, UAW member Scott Moldenhauer said, “That the plan is that we’re going to keep attacking if we have to. We don’t want to strike; obviously, no one wants to strike because that doesn’t make any sense at all, but in the end, we want to make sure we’re showing solidarity, and we want you to hold to your commitment.”
For weeks, union officials have been calling on Stellantis to keep its promise to reopen its Belvidere, Illinois plant.
“A lot of people had to pick up their family and move to Michigan,” said UAW member Rochelle Archie. “A lot of people were losing their jobs, so where do you go next? What do you do? Do you go back home? Do you stay here? What job do I find?”
With the presidential election only two months away, Fain says what happens next is a litmus test for workers across the country.
“All they do is continuously search for a race for the bottom for cheaper workers to exploit more people and exploit other environments so that the CEO could give himself another 50% pay increase while they put thousands of families and they bankrupt communities and they hurt communities, that’s got to stop,” Fain. “That’s what this election is all about.”
Local 4 reached out to Stellantis but did not receive a response. The company did respond to the open letter that the Stellantis U.S. Dealer Network wrote, and they said they don’t believe that personal public attacks, such as the one against its CEO, were an effective way to solve problems. However, they will continue working with dealers to avoid any public disputes. How they will work with workers remains to be seen.
“As our industry continues to face unrelenting change, Stellantis has set forth on an ambitious path to lead the way as we transform into a sustainable mobility tech company. With our commitment to executing a multi-energy strategy, we must continue to adapt by streamlining operations and finding efficiencies that will enhance our competitiveness and ensure our future sustainability and growth. Just yesterday, the company announced a $97 million investment that will support Warren Truck’s role in this transition as part of a more than $400 million investment in the state of Michigan.”
Jodi Tinson of Stellantis