Stellantis subsidiary FCA US is suing United Auto Workers and 23 local units across the country, alleging the union has violated its contract by threatening to strike over the company’s pushback of planned investments.
The automaker claims the union has filed “sham” grievances and publicly misrepresented parts of the collective bargaining agreement it reached last year, according to complaints filed in California, Michigan, Illinois Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Arizona, Massachusetts and Oregon.
Meanwhile, the UAW asserts that Stellantis has invested only 2% of its $19 billion it committed to last year, and has backtracked its plans to reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.
The complaints allege Stellantis and the UAW agreed to new language surrounding the planned future investments, including that they were “contingent upon plant performance, changes in market conditions, and consumer demand continuing to generate sustainable and profitable volumes.”
Stellantis says the UAW and President Shawn Fain have ignored that language and have launched a “sustained, multi-month campaign against the Company to force the planned investments without Company approval and regardless of business factors,” according to the complaint.
Stellantis has faced numerous headwinds in recent quarters, specifically in North America. The company — which recently laid off seasonal workers at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan — lowered its 2024 guidance last week, citing worse-than-expected sales performance in the second half of the year, which is contributing to reduced profit margins.
The UAW claims that instead of honoring its U.S. commitments, Stellantis is investing billions into stock buybacks.
“Stellantis has launched an aggressive PR campaign peddling misinformation about the company’s attempts to evade its U.S. investment commitments,” the union said in an Oct. 7 press release. “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.”
If UAW members strike in the coming weeks, Stellantis has asked the courts to award monetary damages for the union’s alleged breach of contract.
