Tag Archive for: PDC

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UAW Intensifies Fight for U.S. Investments at Stellantis as Company Spends Another $1.1 Billion on Stock Buybacks

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — UAW members at Stellantis’ Denver Parts Distribution Center (PDC) have voted by 97% to authorize the International UAW to call a strike if the union cannot reach a settlement with Stellantis over the company’s violations of the current contract.

UAW locals across the country have charged Stellantis with violating product and investment commitments in the contract. As the grievances proceed, more UAW locals at Stellantis could be holding strike authorization votes soon.

The members of Denver-area UAW Local 186 are the second local of Stellantis workers to approve a strike authorization vote. The members of UAW Local 230 at Stellantis’ Los Angeles PDC were the first, passing their strike authorization vote on Thursday, Oct. 3.

In the UAW’s 2023 contract, the union won $19 billion in investment commitments, securing a future for tens-of-thousands of good union jobs in the United States. The UAW also made history by winning the right to strike if the company fails to fulfill those commitments. A year into the collective bargaining agreement, the company has put forward investment plans equal to only about 2% of the $19 billion in commitments and is now publicly backtracking on its commitments to reopen the idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit.

Instead of fulfilling its investment commitments, Stellantis has poured $1.1 billion into stock buybacks in just the last nine weeks. The company committed to spend $3.3 billion on stock buybacks in 2024.

Stellantis has launched an aggressive PR campaign peddling misinformation about the company’s attempts to evade its U.S. investment commitments. Stellantis is also mounting a desperate effort to intervene in the union’s constitutional strike authorization process. Last week, the company made robocalls to tens of thousands of UAW members across the country telling them to vote no on strike authorization. Last week’s overwhelming yes votes at both the Los Angeles and Denver parts center shows members are ready to fight and that Stellantis’ campaign is backfiring. The company has additionally filed frivolous suits in federal court to try and stop UAW members from utilizing their contractual right to strike over the company’s broken promises.

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

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In First Strike Authorization Vote at Stellantis, UAW Members at Los Angeles Parts Center Overwhelmingly Approve a Walkout if U.S. Investments Aren’t Made

ONTARIO, Calif. — On Thursday night, a supermajority of UAW members at Stellantis’ Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center voted to request strike authorization from the International Executive Board if the company and union can’t settle the grievance over the company’s refusal to meet contractually required investments in America.

They are the first UAW members at Stellantis to hold such a vote since UAW locals began filing grievances against the company in August. The locals have charged Stellantis with violating product and investment commitments in the current contract. As the grievances proceed, more UAW locals at Stellantis could be holding strike authorization votes soon.

“Stellantis made a contractual promise to invest in America and we are not going to let them weasel out of it,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Our members won those investments during the Stand Up strike, and we will strike again to make Stellantis keep the promise if we have to.”

In the UAW’s 2023 contract, the union won $19 billion in investment commitments, securing a future for tens-of-thousands of good union jobs in the United States. The UAW also made history by winning the right to strike if the company fails to fulfill those commitments. A year into the collective bargaining agreement, the company has put forward investment plans equal to only about 2% of the $19 billion in commitments and is now publicly backtracking on its commitments to reopen the idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and to build the Dodge Durango in Detroit.

“If Stellantis can give CEO Carlos Tavares a 56% raise and spend billions lavishing rich shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends, then they sure as hell have the money for productive investments in our plants,” said Fain.

Stellantis is mounting a desperate effort to intervene in the union’s constitutional strike authorization process. This week, the company has been making robocalls to tens of thousands of UAW members across the country telling them to vote no on strike authorization. Yesterday’s overwhelming yes vote at the Los Angeles parts center shows members are ready to fight and that Stellantis’ campaign is backfiring. The company has additionally filed frivolous suits in federal court to try and stop UAW members from utilizing their contractual right to strike over the company’s broken promises.

“Carlos Tavares is being sued by suppliers and shareholders, the national dealers network is up in arms against him, and he is now facing down a strike from the mighty UAW. If an autoworker in the plant did as piss-poor of a job as Tavares, they would be fired. It’s time for Stellantis to shitcan Carlos!” said Fain.

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

Reflecting on the Big Three Contract Campaign

When most of us think about organizing, we often think of going into non-union shops and organizing workers to join the UAW. While that is true, it can also mean organizing our existing union members, and getting them active in our collective fight. For Big Three workers and members of Local 230 going into bargaining this year, we knew that we needed a significant wage increase, a cost-of-living allowance (COLA), the end to an abusive tiered wage system, and the end of the abusive system that kept supplemental employees (temporary workers) working on a temporary status with no real rights and no hire date in sight.


Our contract campaign was huge in the months and weeks leading up to the strike. At the national level, UAW President Shawn Fain & his team were great at keeping members up to date through Facebook Live and news outlets. At the local level, we were hard at work building unity and coordination. Some of the ways we showed solidarity included what we called a Red-Out – wearing only red shirts in solidarity. Another way was organizing members to not work any voluntary overtime in the days leading up to Local 230 being called on to walk off the job. Both of these methods showed management that we were no longer divided and that we weren’t going down without a fight.


On September 15 at 12:00 am, the Big Three walked off the job. The following week, all the PDCs across Stellantis and GM were called to walk off their jobs, and thus, Local 230 was out on strike, along with Locals 6645, 2162, and 492. Our Local 230 President Jesse Ramirez walked out side by side with approximately 55 first shift Local 230 members. Our message was clear: “No deals, No wheels.”


In the following weeks, we organized rallies on the picket lines. These rallies were key for keeping members’ morale up, building a strong sense of camaraderie, and relieving the stress of the strike. In addition to social media and local news coverage, the rallies were extremely sharp tools used to gain public support and to keep our fight and demands as pervasive as possible. Many supporters came out and walked the line, including Teamsters, SAG-AFTRA, Carpenters Union, Machinist Union, as well as State Senators, Assembly Members, and members of the United States Congress.


Our efforts would soon pay off: On October 28th the strike was declared over, and members returned to work the following Monday. The contract was ratified on November 20th, 2023. Workers emerged victorious knowing we, the UAW, had won.



Joel Benefield is a member of UAW Local 230 in Ontario, CA. The local represents workers at the Stellantis Parts Distribution Center in Los Angeles.

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In First Strike Authorization Vote at Stellantis, UAW Members at Los Angeles Parts Center Overwhelmingly Approve a Walkout if U.S. Investments Aren’t Made

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