'I woke up mad as hell': UAW's Shawn Fain rallies in Belvidere after death of auto worker

BELVIDERE, Ill. — A day after the death of a T oledo autoworker who had transferred from the Belvidere Assembly Plant, hundreds of UAW members gathered in Belvidere calling on Stellantis to make good on its promises .

Just days after delivering his blistering "Trump is a scab" speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Tuesday night, UAW President Shawn Fain traveled to Belvidere to be with idled assembly line workers as they grieved the loss of one of their own.

"I had a heavy heart when I went to bed last night," Fain told the crowd of 250 union members. "I woke up mad as hell. We have lost another member of our family because of corporate greed. They have cutted and gutted these plants."

More: UAW: Stellantis failing to live up to promises at Belvidere plant

Antonio Gaston, 53, was reportedly crushed to death while working at Stellantis' Toledo Jeep complex on Wednesday. Gaston took a job working in Toledo after Stellantis idled production at the Belvidere plant in February 2023.

UAW members from across the region joined Fain, UAW Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen and other officials for a rally calling on Stellantis "to keep the commitment the company made to reopen" the Belvidere Assembly Plant. They also had a moment of silence in honor of Gaston.

Fain said tens of thousands of Stellantis workers on Monday filed grievances over what they say is Stellantis' failure to keep its promises about new production at Belvidere.

He said the union was ready to strike and stand in solidarity to demand Stellantis keep its promise to Belvidere — though the company argues that it is in compliance with contract terms.

Stellantis has told the UAW that it is delaying its estimated $5 billion investment to revive Belvidere Assembly, open a parts distribution mega hub and build a battery production facility. No new timetable was announced, but Stellantis has told union officials the plans are to push back the investments at least a year.

Union officials said they believe Stellantis is trying to delay the investments until the contract expires and it will not be enforceable.

Stellantis said in a statement that it is delaying, not canceling the investment. UAW officials said workers needed to stand up to protect American jobs. Fain said the agreement it won from Stellantis to invest in the Belvidere plant among others were not suggestions but "binding commitments in a union contract."

In a statement issued Tuesday, Stellantis said it has not violated commitments from its 2023 collective bargaining agreement with the UAW.

Fain argued that Stellantis is struggling because of poor decision-making by CEO Carlos Tavares. Fain said the goal is not to strike, but the union would strike if necessary to force Stellantis to make the investments it promised.

"Market conditions are the problem when the autoworker wants a fair share," Fain said. "It's never market conditions when the CEO wants to buy a new yacht."

Stellantis also took exception to Fain's comments about Gaston's death in Toledo, issuing this statement Thursday evening: "The safety of our employees is our top priority. What happened in Toledo is tragic and we are all heartbroken about it. For Shawn Fain to use it to propagate his political agenda is insensitive and insulting to the family and our team in Toledo. There is nothing more important to us than to ensure that when our employees come to work every day that they return home safely at the end of their shift. Shawn Fain’s comments are reckless and not representative of the entire UAW membership.”

Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at  (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey .

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 'I woke up mad as hell': UAW's Shawn Fain rallies in Belvidere after death of auto worker