Across the country, UAW locals have filed grievances against Stellantis for refusing to follow through on the $19 billion in product and investment commitments made during the 2023 Stand Up Strike. Three strike votes over these local grievances have succeeded so far. However, one vote received only 61% support — just below the two-thirds required to pass. This vote in Kokomo is a call to build unity and education among the membership. Learn how to get involved in member-to-member organizing.
Update on Strike Votes at Stellantis Locals
In our 2023 contracts, we won a commitment from Stellantis to reopen the closed plant in Belvidere and to make other critical investments in the Belvidere community. In August, the company declared their intent to back out of all those commitments. In September, they announced their plan to violate our contract yet again by moving production of the Dodge Durango from JNAP to Canada.
On September 26, all 200 members of the UAW Stellantis Council unanimously recommended that every UAW worker at Stellantis prepare for a fight and vote YES to authorize a strike. The Council committed to “bring this momentum back to our locals, engage our members, and prepare for the steps ahead”. Read the council’s full memo.
As of today, three Stellantis locals have authorized a strike: parts distribution centers near Los Angeles (UAW Local 230) and Denver (UAW Local 186) and the Belvidere assembly plant (UAW Local 1268). However, members at the Kokomo Casting Plant (UAW Local 1166) voted “YES” by only 61%, just below the two-thirds threshold to pass the vote.
The strike votes were taken over local grievances (read the grievances) that had an associated deadline to declare our intent to strike. Instead of moving forward without all the membership on board, the union is withdrawing the grievances without prejudice — essentially hitting pause — to build unity and move ahead in the fight together.
During a rally at the Mack Avenue Assembly plant in Detroit last week, Stellantis Department Director Kevin Gotinsky said the next step is to “work to get everyone moving at the same pace.” The plan is to keep bargaining with the company over the Belvidere and Durango concerns, and “keep educating the members” about the need to hold the company accountable for its investment commitments.
How Can We Respond to Fear Among the Membership?
Ever since the 2023 contracts were ratified, Stellantis has been on the counterattack. The company has tried its best to turn a big raise into more work for fewer members with flagrant harassment and constant job combining. Their next move was vowing to violate the commitments they made to invest in our plants. Finally, they enacted a wave of layoffs to stoke fear and division among the membership.
Stellantis showed their hand when they sent a robo-call to every member urging us to vote “NO” on strike authorization. The company relied on the North American market for 45% of its $85B revenue in the first half of this year — substantially more than any other region, including Europe. The company is also facing increasing pressure from investors. A strike threat would put even greater pressure on the corporate leadership, which is responsible for getting the situation under control.
Our move. Will we let Stellantis pick us off plant-by-plant until we’re all out of a job, or will we stand ten toes down and fight? Our unity is our power, and our responsibility to defend our jobs has never been greater.
This window is our opportunity to prepare for strike votes across Stellantis. Get educational leaflets, “Strike Ready” stickers, and support from an organizer: Request a free Keep the Promise toolkit here.