UAW leaders, members rally near idled Stellantis plant in Belvidere

BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — United Auto Workers members and leadership held a rally in Belvidere on Thursday, calling on automaker Stellantis to honor its commitments to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant.

“The victories we won last year in our Stand Up Strike at the Big Three weren`t suggestions, they were binding commitments in a union contract, and we as the UAW intend to enforce that contract to the fullest extent,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.

Fain will be joined by Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell, and Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen.

On Monday, UAW locals filed grievances with the company over what they said was its failure to honor commitments it made in the latest union contract.

In October 2022, Stellantis agreed to build a $3.2 billion battery plant in Belvidere and invest $1.5 billion to retool the factory for an all-new mid-sized truck.

The automaker said market conditions were the reason for the delay, saying that “to ensure the company’s future competitiveness and sustainability, which are necessary to preserve U.S. manufacturing jobs, 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. Therefore, the company confirms it has notified the UAW that plans for Belvidere will be delayed, but firmly stands by its commitment.”

“I find a pathetic irony in the fact that Stellantis is now, for the first time, citing ‘market conditions’ as their reason for attempting to break their promises to Belvidere and autoworkers in America. It’s always ‘market conditions’ when they have to stiff an autoworker or close a plant. It’s never ‘market conditions’ when they want to raise CEO pay by 56%. Carlos Tavares is telling the American autoworker, ‘Market conditions for thee, but not for me,'” Fain said in a statement.

The UAW has threatened to authorize a strike at assembly plants in Toledo, Ohio; Warren, Michigan; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Detroit, Michigan; and Kokomo, Indiana.

Stellantis said it notified the UAW of plans to delay reopening of Belvidere. Still, they said it stands by the commitment and “strongly objects” to union allegations that it’s violating terms of the UAW contract.

“The UAW agreed to language that expressly allows the company to modify product investments and employment levels,” spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said . “Therefore the union cannot legally strike over a violation of this letter at this time.”

Stellantis idled the Belvidere plant in February 2023.

The Belvidere plant opened as a Chrysler factory in 1965, manufacturing the Plymouth Fury. When it was idled in 2023, it was making the Jeep Cherokee.

Stellantis reported that its net profits fell by half during the first six months of the year largely because of lower sales and restructuring costs.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a $334.8 million investment to retool the plant to build electric vehicles and components.

In the automotive sector, other manufacturers are delaying timelines for electric vehicle production in a global market dominated by Tesla and Chinese alternatives, such as BYD. In October 2023, General Motors announced it would be delaying the production of its electric Silverado pick-up truck.

On Wednesday, Ford said it would cut its spending on EVs and canceled plans for a three-row SUV. Ford said the global EV market is changing rapidly, and it must evolve to compete with Chinese automakers that have lower production and engineering costs.

“I think we all know; this corporation is slow playing us right now due to the elections coming up in November. You have one candidate [Trump] that says he’ll end EV mandates on day one and the other [Harris] maintaining their position on EV mandates. The $1.4 billion dollars from the government is contingent on us building EV in Belvidere. In my opinion, Stellantis will not move forward with anything until they know what mandates there will be, if any,” Frantzen added.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. electric vehicle sales rose about 7% during the first half of the year to 599,134, accounting for 7.6% of the U.S. new vehicle market, about the same as it was for all of last year.

Sales of gas-electric hybrids went up 35.3% from January through June to 715,768, outpacing electric vehicle sales.

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