During his primetime speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 15, 55-year-old UAW president Shawn Fain, a personified representative of the American labor movement, made a completely unexpected pop culture reference.
“In the words of the great American poet Nelly: ‘It’s getting hot in here,’” Fain exclaimed before removing his sportcoat, exposing a bright red UAW T-shirt that read 'Trump is a scab, Vote Harris' to raucous applause.
“It’s hot in here. It’s hot in here because you’re fired up and you're fed up, and the American working class is fired up and fed up. The American working class in a fight for our lives.”
Though much of Fain's speech praised U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for their solidarity with the union and called former President Donald Trump' a scab,' the UAW president used the opportunity to call out a Detroit Big Three automaker that the union has on watch.
Stellantis' broken promise
Before Shawn Fain took the stage that night, the UAW issued a statement that stated that several UAW chapters representing Stellantis (STLA) workers were preparing to file grievances against the multinational automaker, accusing the corporation of not honoring the production commitment terms of their hard-fought 2023 contract.
In 2023, the automaker agreed to build brand-new, multibillion-dollar facilities at the idled Belvedere Assembly plant in Belvedere, Illinois; a move that would bring 5,000 total jobs to the plant by 2028.
But despite the U.S. Energy Department awarding Stellantis with a $334.8 million grant to build EVs at the Belvidere Assembly plant, and $250 million to convert its Kokomo, Indiana Transmission Plant to produce EV components, the UAW says that it is falling behind on its promise.
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“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 UAW wrote in its proposed grievance.
"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."
According to the UAW, the UAW-Stellantis contract gives the union the power to authorize a strike on a specific grievance once an issue has been taken through the proper procedure.
“This company made a commitment to autoworkers at Stellantis in our union contract, and we intend to enforce that contract to the full extent,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.
“On behalf of autoworkers everywhere, we’re standing up against a company that wants to go back on its commitments and drive a race to the bottom at the expense of the American worker.”
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Fain's message to Stellantis
In front of television cameras broadcasting to every major television news network, Fain looked back at the landmark strike that showcased the UAW's bargaining power.
"Last fall, we achieved life-changing gains at our strike at the Big Three. We even won a commitment to reopen a plant not too far from here."
"We were able to do that thanks to the support of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and the thousands of auto workers that went on strike."
He then took the opportunity to remind Stellantis of their agreement in front of millions of American eyes glued to their television screens.
"But a year later, one company [Stellantis] wants to back on their commitments on our contract,"
"Let me be clear: Stellantis must keep the promises they made to America in our union contract. And the UAW will take whatever action necessary at Stellantis or any other corporation to stand up and hold corporate America accountable."
Stellantis' cop-out
The Belvedere situation is far from the only infraction Stellantis committed against UAW membership, in Fain's view. With Stellantis posting first-half 2024 results that showed a 48% loss compared to the same period in 2023, CEO Carlos Tavares signaled that it is crunch time for the company.
"We have significant work to do, especially in North America, to maximize our long-term potential," he said during the call.
Shortly after the earnings call, the parent company of Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram started trimming jobs in key parts of its operations and offering voluntary buyout packages to white-collar workers.
Related: Stellantis made a 'disgraceful' move at the expense of UAW workers
However, a later move would catch the ire of UAW leadership.
On August 9, Stellantis announced that it would lay off as many as 2,450 assembly line workers from the Detroit-area Warren Truck Assembly plant that builds the Ram 1500 Classic, a move that JD Vance blamed squarely on Kamala Harris.
However, since the move was to discontinue a model that was costing the automaker profit, the UAW president blamed the cuts squarely on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
"Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is a disgrace and an embarrassment to a once-great American company," Fain told Detroit-area Fox affiliate Fox 2 WJBK-TV.
"While GM and Ford report fantastic profits and increased sales, Stellantis is going backwards. Meanwhile, Tavares jacks up his own pay by 56 percent while laying off thousands of autoworkers."
Stellantis, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as STLA, is up 0.28% from the opening bell, trading at $16.34 at the time of writing.
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