Tag Archive for: Carlos Tavares

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Stellantis Reverses Course After Months of Pressure, Recommits Billions of Investment in UAW Jobs

Detroit, MI – After months of pushing the company to Keep The Promise made in 2023 contract negotiations, the UAW has successfully secured a commitment from Stellantis to invest billions in American autoworkers. In response, the union has agreed to settle its grievances concerning the Dodge Durango and the reopening of Belvidere Assembly.

Specifically, Stellantis has committed to build the next generation Dodge Durango at the Detroit Assembly Complex and to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant in 2027 and allocate a new midsize truck, as agreed to in the union’s 2023 contract. Both of these commitments had been walked back by disgraced former CEO Carlos Tavares, and are being honored by the company’s new leadership.

“This victory is a testament to the power of workers standing together and holding a billion-dollar corporation accountable,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “We’ve shown that we will do what it takes to protect the good union jobs that are the lifeblood of places like Belvidere, Detroit, Kokomo, and beyond.”

The company also committed to a significant investment in Kokomo, announcing plans to build Phase II of the GME-T4 EVO engine beginning in 2026, reversing plans to move work out of this country. There will be no change to existing GME-T4 EVO production at the Dundee Engine Plant. Finally, the company committed to increased component production at the Toledo Machining Plant.

Thousands of UAW members and leaders rallied, marched, filed grievances, and organized their coworkers as part of the union’s Keep the Promise campaign, contributing to CEO Carlos Tavares’ ouster in late 2024. The new North American COO Antonio Filosa has expressed a desire to work with the UAW to build vehicles here in the U.S.

After securing a historic agreement in 2023 contract negotiations which included a first-ever right to strike over product and investment commitments, the UAW has successfully enforced its contract with Stellantis, while advocating for pro-worker trade policies that will stop the auto industry’s race to the bottom and the gutting of working class communities across America.

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Statement from UAW President Shawn Fain on Stellantis-Samsung SDI Leasing Agreement and Carlos Tavares Resignation

We are excited to announce that Stellantis has finalized their employee leasing agreement at their joint venture battery plant with Samsung SDI. This means over 1,000 new jobs for UAW members in Kokomo, at a time when Stellantis is trying to cut its way out of its own mismanagement.

We won this leasing agreement in our 2023 contract negotiations, but under the failed leadership of Carlos Tavares, the company delayed making good on their commitment to workers in Kokomo. This pattern of going back on agreements and violating our contract was part of what led us to call for Tavares’s resignation.

We look forward to continuing this progress in honoring our contract with new Stellantis leadership that respects hardworking UAW members and is ready to keep its promise to America by investing in the people who build its products.

Tavares’ resignation is a major step in the right direction for a company that has been mismanaged and a workforce that has been mistreated for too long. Tavares is leaving behind a mess of painful layoffs and overpriced vehicles sitting on dealership lots. For weeks, thousands of UAW members at Stellantis have been calling for the company to fire Tavares due to his reckless mismanagement of the company. We are pleased to see the company responding to pressure and correcting course.

We will keep using all means available to hold Stellantis accountable and enforce the contract we won in 2023, including advancing strikeable grievances until Stellantis keeps its investment commitments to workers in Belvidere, Michigan, and beyond. We are looking forward to sitting down with the new CEO, backed up by thousands of UAW Stellantis members ready to take action, and discussing their plan to keep making world-class vehicles here in the United States.

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79 Members of Congress Send Letters to Stellantis’ CEO Carlos Tavares in Support of UAW Workers

Washington, D.C. – In a powerful show of solidarity with UAW members, 79 Members of Congress have sent letters to Stellantis and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, expressing deep concerns about the company’s recent actions and urging a renewed commitment to American workers.

A letter signed by 23 Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and all 4 Senators from Michigan and Illinois, was addressed directly to CEO Carlos Tavares. The Senators called out Stellantis for failing to uphold its contractual obligations to UAW members, highlighting concerns that recent company decisions undermine its commitment to its workforce.

Meanwhile, 56 members of the House of Representatives—including the entire Democratic delegations from Michigan and Ohio, as well as Rep. Bill Foster, who represents Belvidere, Illinois—sent a letter to the Stellantis Board of Directors. They voiced their dismay over the company’s direction and decisions, specifically noting the delays in reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant.

Both letters echo the calls from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizing the need for Stellantis to prioritize American jobs. The lawmakers criticized the company’s rationale of “poor market conditions” to delay investments, pointing to Stellantis’ $6 billion in profits in the first half of the year, $8 billion spent on stock buybacks and dividends, and the $39.5 million compensation package awarded to CEO Tavares.

Senators also highlighted the $335 million in public dollars that Stellantis is slated to receive for reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant. They urged the company to honor the promises made to UAW workers and the community of Belvidere.

“Stellantis’ reliance on taxpayer support, while planning layoffs and moving production outside of the United States, betrays the trust of American workers and taxpayers,” said the letter, citing recent layoffs at Stellantis’ facilities in Sterling Heights, Warren, Toledo, and Detroit.

The Congressional letters stress that Stellantis’ decision to delay investment in the Belvidere Assembly Plant and potentially move production of the Dodge Durango outside the U.S., not only violates the UAW contract but also breaks faith with Congress and the American public’s expectations of the company’s role in supporting domestic jobs.

As UAW local unions continue to file grievances and take strike authorization votes to enforce their contract, the letters are a firm reminder that the company’s decisions to reward shareholders and punish workers are under scrutiny, with elected representatives and top officials holding Stellantis accountable for its promises to American workers.

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UAW President Shawn Fain to Join Members at Trenton Engine Rally, Call On Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to Keep The Promise

TRENTON, MI — UAW members will rally at the UAW Local 372 union hall to call on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to honor the union contract and Keep The Promise to maintain product and investment commitments in Belvidere, Illinois and across the country.

WHO: UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Region 1A Director Laura Dickerson
WHAT: Rally at Trenton Engine to Make Stellantis Keep The Promise
WHERE: UAW Local 372, 4571 Division St, Trenton, MI 48183
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 3:00pm

UAW members and supporters will highlight Stellantis’ refusal to follow through on the $19 billion in product and investment commitments made during the 2023 Stand Up Strike. These promises include reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and building the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit—both crucial agreements that Stellantis is now trying to backtrack on.

UAW locals representing tens of thousands of Stellantis workers have filed grievances with the company over their failure to Keep the Promise made in contract negotiations. Once the grievance procedure is exhausted under the national contract, the union may authorize a strike.

As Stellantis has filed frivolous lawsuits and robocalled members in a desperate effort to block the union’s actions, three UAW locals have already passed strike authorization votes, with more locals preparing to follow. The union’s grievance process, initiated due to Stellantis’ failure to reopen Belvidere and invest in future production, is moving forward. If grievances remain unresolved, a strike at one or more Stellantis facilities could begin within weeks.

In a new video released last week, UAW President Shawn Fain directly addresses Stellantis members, urging them to stand up and fight for their jobs and futures by going to ShitcanCarlos.com to sign a strike authorization pledge.

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise

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UAW Releases New Video Condemning Stellantis for Broken Promises and Mismanagement as Protests Against the Company Go Global

Today, the UAW released a powerful new video calling out Stellantis for failing to honor its commitments to UAW members and criticizing CEO Carlos Tavares for mismanaging the company. The release coincides with a one-day general strike by Italian unions to protest Stellantis’ significant production cuts and the broader impact on metalworkers across Italy.

The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage. 

UAW members from Belvidere, Illinois, including UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell and UAW Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen, joined the strike and spoke to the hundreds of thousands gathered to protest Stellantis’ baldfaced corporate greed. UAW members secured a commitment to reopen the idled Belvidere plant in their 2023 contract, but the company has not fulfilled its promise.

Pictures from the general strike in Rome can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the images.

The UAW’s new video highlights Stellantis’ refusal to follow through on the $19 billion in product and investment commitments made during the 2023 Stand Up Strike. These promises include reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois—a crucial agreement that Stellantis is now trying to backtrack on. In the video, UAW President Shawn Fain directly addresses Stellantis members , urging them to stand up and fight for their jobs and futures by going to ShitcanCarlos.com to sign a strike authorization pledge.

“This is about your job, your life, and the question is, are you going to let Carlos Tavares tell you to sit down and shut up?” Fain asks in the video. “Or are you going to stand up and fight for what’s right, for what you deserve?”

As Stellantis has filed frivolous lawsuits and robocalled members in a desperate effort to block the union’s actions, three UAW locals have already passed strike authorization votes, with more locals preparing to follow. The union’s grievance process, initiated due to Stellantis’ failure to reopen Belvidere and invest in future production, is moving forward. If grievances remain unresolved, a strike at one or more Stellantis facilities could begin within weeks.

The UAW video serves as a call to action for members and allies, clearly stating that the union will not back down in its fight to hold Stellantis accountable.

For more information, visit ShitcanCarlos.com, where viewers can learn about the campaign to “Keep The Promise” and find the latest updates on the fight against Stellantis’ mismanagement.

The full transcript of President Fain’s narration is below:  

UAW family, as you may have heard, Stellantis has filed more than a dozen frivolous lawsuits against our Union. This is an act of desperation, plain and simple.  

Two weeks ago, nearly 200 leaders from UAW locals across the country came to Detroit to discuss the situation at Stellantis.  

At the meeting, we reviewed the clear evidence that CEO Carlos Tavares and Stellantis are seriously violating the product commitments in our national agreement. Stellantis has not kept its commitment in Belvedere and has unallocated the Dodge Durango from the Jefferson North Assembly Plant.  

For years, this company has picked us off, plant by plant, and our leadership lacked the will and the means to fight back. The Stellantis Council unanimously decided that those days are over. All 200 UAW leaders unanimously recommended to the membership that every UAW worker at Stellantis prepare for a fight and that we all get ready to vote yes to authorize a strike at Stellantis.  

Now in response, Stellantis is trying to use the federal courts to stop our campaign to get this company to keep the promises they made to American auto workers in our 2023 contract.  

Stellantis management has launched a campaign of intimidation and harassment against our members, our local unions, and the International UAW to try to get us to back down from the fight to save our jobs.  

I have bad news for Stellantis: we’re not going anywhere.  

Their corporate lawyers are claiming that our fight to keep jobs in Belvedere, Detroit, and America is based on what they call “sham grievances.”  

But here’s the real sham: over the past nine weeks, Stellantis has spent over a billion dollars on stock buybacks, all while saying they can’t afford to keep their commitments to their own employees. In fact, Stellantis has spent $3 billion on stock buybacks this year alone.  

Our proposal would cost a fraction of what Carlos Tavares has pissed away on Wall Street to save his stock price, which is down 55% since March.  

The real sham is this campaign of intimidation and interference in our Union’s business.  

Stellantis managers are calling members, threatening their jobs. They’re emailing our local presidents threatening lawsuits.  

This is what happens when a CEO is cornered and isolated. His dealers in America and Europe are turning against him. His suppliers and shareholders are suing him, and he’s pushing our customers away. 

And the sham is that he will walk away with a golden parachute of millions and millions of dollars, while American autoworkers are left holding the bag.  

The sham took place this week when he was asked about stepping down or being replaced. Carlos Tavares said, and I quote, “I signed a contract.”  

Well, Carlos, the workers at Stellantis signed a contract too, and it’s time for you to honor it.  

Our fight is about honoring a contract that Carlos Tavares signed. Our fight is about tens of thousands of American auto worker jobs, our families, and our communities.  

This is about your job, your life, and the question is, are you going to let Carlos Tavares tell you to sit down and shut up? Or are you going to stand up and fight for what’s right, for what you deserve?  

These aren’t sham grievances. These are our lives. Carlos Tavares is a sham CEO with a sham strategy to drive this company into the ground.  

We will once again save this company from mismanagement, from corporate greed, and from killing tens of thousands of good jobs, but only if we stick together. Only if we stand up.  

So, are you in? If you are, sign your strike authorization pledge today. And you can do that by going to shitcancarlos.com.  

Let me repeat that: you can sign a strike authorization pledge by going to shitcancarlos.com.  

Let the company know where you stand. And together, let’s tell Stellantis, the days of plant closures are over, and Carlos Tavares needs to go. 

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UAW Issues Statements on Stellantis’ Misleading Claims on Its Legal Commitments

DETROIT — UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky issued the following statements about Stellantis’ misleading claims on its product and investment commitments in the United States.

UAW President Shawn Fain issued the following statement: 

“Stellantis, formerly FCA, formerly Cerberus, formerly Daimler, formerly Chrysler, is following in a long line of failing corporate executives blaming autoworkers for their own mismanagement.”

“It is gross mismanagement by top executives that is killing this company. It is laughable that Stellantis claims our proposal to reopen Belvidere is ‘outrageous.’ In just the last 9 weeks, Stellantis has pissed away $1 billion in stock buybacks for a total of $3 billion in stock buybacks this year. Our proposal would cost a fraction of that and would go directly to the autoworkers who have built this company.

“Everyone knows the so-called ‘jobs bank’ didn’t cause the 2008 bankruptcies, and autoworkers aren’t responsible for CEO Carlos Tavares’ mismanagement today. We are asking that Stellantis keep their contractual commitments and do right by Belvidere autoworkers and autoworkers across the country. If they can’t do that, then the only answer is for autoworkers to join with dealers, suppliers, and shareholders in demanding that Carlos be shitcanned.”

UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky issued the following statement: 

“Stellantis is falsely comparing its commitments in our current contract to the jobs bank program from decades ago. The jobs bank program offered protection for jobs that were outsourced. If Stellantis lives up to its commitments and reopens Belvidere Assembly and builds the Belvidere parts Megahub, our members will be back to work soon and the cost to the company will be minimal. These employees can and are willing to perform work today. That is all they want, to have a future and be able to provide for their families as agreed to in our contract.”

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise.

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“Stellantis Is Scared”: New UAW Video Exposes Company’s Robocalls to UAW Members Urging a No Vote on Strike Authorization

DETROIT – Today, the UAW released a video exposing a robocall campaign by Stellantis telling tens of thousands of UAW members to vote no on a potential strike authorization vote. In August, the union filed grievances against Stellantis for violating product and investment commitments in its current contract and the grievance process could escalate to a strike.

The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage. 

The new video is narrated by UAW President Shawn Fain. “Stellantis management is literally saying we’re going to eliminate your job and gut your community, but we would appreciate your support,” Fain says in the video. “The company has NO BUSINESS telling you how to vote. But it’s clear that Stellantis is scared.”

The video is dropping on the same day that Stellantis members and allies are holding a 3:30 p.m. rally and march at UAW Local 1264 at Stellantis’ Sterling Stamping Plant. 

In the UAW’s 2023 contract, the union won major gains, including a commitment from Stellantis to reopen an idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit. Now the company is trying to backtrack on those commitments.

In the 2023 contract, the UAW also won the right to strike over product and investment commitments, and the union’s members are preparing to strike if necessary to make Stellantis Keep the Promise.

The full transcript of President Fain’s narration is below:  

Carlos Tavares is out of control, and it’s once again up to UAW members to save this company from itself.

The company has sent robocalls to tens of thousands of UAW members trying to tell us how to vote on a strike authorization.

Let me break this down for you.

Stellantis management is literally saying we’re going to eliminate your job and gut your community, but we would appreciate your support.

The company has NO BUSINESS telling you how to vote.

But it’s clear that Stellantis is scared.

They’re scared that our union will finally start fighting back to save our plants and save our jobs.

For years this company picked us off plant by plant and our union took no action.

That’s why it was so important for us to win the right to strike over violations of the product commitments in our historic 2023 contract.

And now the company is scared.

They’re scared because rather than picking us off we now have the power to stand up together.

They’re scared of the power of our membership.

Stellantis is desperate to keep going down a path of cutting short-term costs even if it kills this company.

That path is a DEAD END.

And if UAW members have to strike to make them change course and keep their promise to America, that’s exactly what we’ll do.

Here’s Carlos Tavares’ plan for this company:

Carlos Tavares wants to kill good jobs in America and shift 80 percent of production to so-called “low-cost countries.”

These are high-exploitation, low-wage countries where workers make pennies on the dollar so Stellantis can ship the product back into the USA at an insane profit.

And Tavares is going to have his way, unless we in the UAW join together to stop him.

Carlos Tavares also wants to cut staffing and investment to the bone.

And that has real consequences for real people.

The lives of thousands of families in Belvidere, Ill., are hanging in the balance, as Stellantis tries to back out of their promise to reopen that plant.

Thousands of Michigan workers are under threat as Stellantis tries to back out of their commitments for the Dodge Durango at the Detroit Assembly Complex.

Carlos Tavares is also turning good union jobs into dangerous jobs.

At Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly plant in Ohio, one of our union brothers recently lost his life on the assembly line.

That’s what happens when you cut staffing to the bone, and force people to work endless hours.

It’s not safe. It’s not fair. And it’s not right.

Carlos Tavares is driving this company into the ground. Literally.

In Toledo, a smokestack recently collapsed and crushed an employee’s car – a Dodge Durango.

But we will not let Carlos Tavares continue to tear this company down.

For decades Stellantis management has been more than happy to sacrifice autoworker jobs and our communities at the altar of corporate greed.

The UAW has two words for Carlos Taveres and Stellantis: HELL NO.

If it takes a fight, we’ll fight.

If it takes a strike, we’ll strike.

Carlos, we’re voting yes.

To make Stellantis Keep The Promise.

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UAW Files Federal Labor Charges, Grievances Against Stellantis for Violating Contract, Refusing to Provide Information, and Moving Durango Production Out of America

On Monday, the UAW filed federal unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board for Stellantis’ illegal refusal to provide information about the company’s plans regarding product commitments it made in the UAW’s 2023 collective bargaining agreement.

Several UAW locals covering thousands of members have also filed contract grievances over the company’s attempt to move Dodge Durango production out of the United States, in violation of the UAW’s national agreement.

On Tuesday, September 17, at 7pm ET, UAW President Shawn Fain will address the UAW membership on Facebook Live. The media is invited to watch on UAW’s YouTube or social media accounts.

“In our 2023 contract, we won major gains, including a commitment to reopen an idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit. We also won the right to strike over those commitments, if we have to,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Now, Stellantis wants to go back on the deal. As a united UAW, we intend to enforce our contract, and to make Stellantis keep the promise.”

“Stellantis is one of the most profitable auto companies on the planet, and makes its money off of the American market,” said UAW Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky. “UAW members generate that profit and build the product that keeps this company running. We will take action if necessary to stop Stellantis from violating our contract and abandoning the American worker.”

More than a dozen local unions covering tens of thousands of Stellantis workers have filed grievances against the company’s attempt to back out of their commitment to reopen Belvidere Assembly and other violations of the product & investment commitments secured in the UAW’s Stand Up Strike last year. The filings are the union’s latest push to get Stellantis to Keep The Promise to American autoworkers.

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UAW Members to Rally Outside Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Call On Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to Keep The Promise

On Friday, August 23rd, UAW members will rally outside Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) to call on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to honor the union contract and Keep The Promise to maintain product and investment commitments in Belvidere, Illinois and across the country.

Tavares is set to visit SHAP on Friday and has refused to meet with local union leadership.

“We want to make sure Carlos Tavares is listening to the people who make the product that makes this company run,” said UAW Local 1700 President Mike Spencer. “We intend to enforce our national agreement so that this company keeps its commitments, and we intend to make our voices heard.”

WHAT: Rally to Make Stellantis Keep The Promise
WHERE: West side of Van Dyke Avenue, south of 16 ½ Mile Road, Sterling Heights, Michigan
WHEN: Friday, August 23rd, 1-2:30pm

**UAW members are participating in an informational rally to demand Stellantis keep the promise made to autoworkers. We will not be picketing or striking, this is not a work stoppage.  Attendees will not block traffic or driveways. Workers must work their shifts as scheduled.**

On Monday, UAW locals representing tens of thousands of Stellantis workers filed grievances with the company over their failure to Keep the Promise made in contract negotiations in 2023. Once the grievance procedure is exhausted under the national contract, the union may authorize a strike.

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep The Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise.

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UAW Members and Leaders to Rally in Belvidere, Illinois to Call on Stellantis to Keep the Promise

Belvidere, IL – On Thursday, August 22nd, UAW members and leaders, including UAW President Shawn Fain, Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell, and Local 1268 President Matt Frantzen, will rally in Belvidere, Illinois to call on Stellantis to keep the commitment the company made to reopen Belvidere Assembly and invest in thousands of jobs in that community. 

On Monday, UAW locals representing tens of thousands of Stellantis workers filed grievances with the company over their failure to Keep the Promise made in contract negotiations in 2023. Once the grievance procedure is exhausted under the national contract, the union may authorize a strike. 

“This isn’t just a local fight or just a union fight,” said UAW Region 4 Director Brandon Campbell. “This is a fight for the dignity of work in America. Union or not, from Belvidere or not. If we don’t Stand Up now, when will we? If we don’t Stand Up to protect American jobs, what will we stand for?” 

“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. 

“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 across 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.’” 

“They say they want to ‘delay’ reopening Belvidere Assembly but they really want to kick the can past our contract expiration so they can suddenly cite ‘market conditions’ again and never open this plant, never repair the damage they’ve done to thousands of autoworkers and their families. And it’s not just Belvidere. If they go back on this, what else will they go back on? As the company attacks us with layoffs during the most profitable times, what jobs will those workers have left to transfer into? This company made a commitment, on a timeline, to invest in the American autoworker and invest in Belvidere, and that’s why we’re ready to take action to make sure Stellantis keeps the promise.” 

For more information on the fight to make Stellantis Keep the Promise, visit UAW.org/KeepThePromise. 

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