The United Auto Workers filed charges against Stellantis with the National Labor Relations Board Monday.

The union alleges the Detroit automaker illegally refused to provide information about changes to product plans it committed to last year during negotiations for new worker contracts.

What You Need To Know

  • The United Auto Workers filed charges against Stellantis with the National Labor Relations Board Monday

  • The union alleges the Detroit automaker illegally refused to provide information about changes to product plans it committed to last year during negotiations for new worker contracts

  • UAW President Shawn Fain said the new contract allows the union to strike if the company does not uphold its commitments

  • Stellantis agreed to reopen a factory it idled last year in Belvidere, Ill., but has not given a date for its restart

“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. “We also won the right to strike over those commitments, if we have to.”

Fain said Stellantis, which makes Dodge, Jeep and other car brands, is trying to renege on those deals. More than 12 local unions representing tens of thousands of workers with the company have filed grievances, according to the UAW.

"Stellantis has not received the filing, and therefore has not had an opportunity to review the charge," a company spokesperson told Spectrum News. "The Company has not violated the commitments made in the Investment Letter included in the 2023 UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement. Like all of our competitors, Stellantis is attempting to carefully manage how and when we bring new vehicles to market with a focus on enhancing our competitiveness and ensuring our future sustainability and growth. We will communicate our plans to the UAW at the appropriate time." 

Last year, following a months-long strike of the Big Three Detroit automakers, the union won a 25% wage increase over the course of a 4-1/2-year contract, as well as cost-of-living adjustments from Stellantis.

Stellantis also agreed to re-open a factory in Illinois that had closed in February 2023, displacing 1,200 workers. That reopening has been delayed because of poor market conditions, the company said. It has not given a date for the plant’s restart. 

Stellantis also agreed to open a new battery factory and warehouse to supply parts but has not given a date.