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The United Auto Workers (UAW) has filed unfair labor practice charges against Stellantis (STLA), weeks after the union accused the automaker of failing to keep to the promises made in its labor contract.
The UAW alleged that Stellantis has illegally refused to provide information related to its plans for product commitments it made to secure a labor contract with workers last fall. More than a dozen UAW locals covering tens of thousands of autoworkers filed grievances over the automaker’s decision to delay reopening its Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant, according to the union.
Several UAW locals also filed contract grievances over a reported plan to transfer production of the Dodge Durango to Ontario. The SUV is currently made at Stellantis’s facility in Detroit, which also produces Jeep’s Cherokee and Grand Cherokee models.
“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,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “Now, Stellantis wants to go back on the deal,” he added.
The Belvidere plant was shut down in March 2023, although Stellantis agreed to commit almost $5 billion to help reopen it as part of the union’s contract. Stellantis said it would build a new $3.2 billion battery plant, invest $1.5 million to convert the plant to make electric vehicles, and build a $100 million parts distribution center, according to the UAW.
Last month, the UAW said that the Belvidere Consolidated Mopar Mega Hub will not launch this year, and that stamping operations at the Belvidere Mega Hub will not begin in 2025 as previously expected. Plans to convert the Belvidere plant to make electric midsize trucks by 2027 — a project that has been given more than $583 million in federal funding and is expected to employ 1,450 union workers — has also been delayed.
A representative for Stellantis did not immediately return a request for comment.
The charges come as Stellantis prepares to debut new plans at the IAA Transportation Conference in Germany and after it announced a $406 million investment to retool three Michigan plants to build electric vehicles and hybrids. Despite a rash of troubles, the company has said it won’t sell any of its 14 brands, including Chrysler and Jeep.
In August, Stellantis said it would lay off as many as 2,450 workers later this year and end production of the Ram 1500 Classic, which was being manufactured in Warren, Michigan.