The CEO might be gone, but UAW still holding Stellantis accountable

UAW says Stellantis is not keeping promises.

DETROIT—Right before the holiday season, auto workers who build Stellantis vehicles—think Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler—got an early present: “Shitcan Carlos”, the now former-CEO of the Big 3 auto company, resigned amid a floundering performance and massive anger among the workers. His resignation came on Dec. 14, 2024.

“Months ago, we sounded the alarm about how he was driving the company straight into the ground,” said United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain. “He was sacrificing workers while rewarding his shareholder buddies.”

What were called “productivity cuts”—resulting in thousands of union worker layoffs under Tavares reign—came despite giving out million dollar bonuses and a 56% pay increase to himself.

During the 2023 Stand-Up Strike, a national rolling strike against the Big 3, UAW members at Stellantis won $19 billion in product and investment commitments from the company. The workers also won the right to strike to enforce the contract. They are planning on using it, if they have to, to ensure Stellantis keeps its promise.

Several UAW locals held strike authorization votes against Stellantis in recent months. UAW members also held rallies across the country, including marches and demonstrations on Stellantis factories, such as the massive Sterling Heights Stamping Plant in metro Detroit, to prepare for a possible strike.

With the resignation (perhaps even forced) of Carlos Tavares, Fain said that the company is responding to the pressure of auto workers and their allies and is finally starting to correct course.

“There’s no doubt that the membership played an important role in forcing him out…Over the last few months, we showed the company that we will do whatever it takes to protect our jobs and protect our future,” he said.

While Tavares resignation is good news, the fight is far from over

“Now that Carlos Tavares is out of the picture, I believe things are starting to move in a more positive direction,” said UAW Stellantis Department director Kevin Gotinsky.

“The company has already partially reversed some previously announced layoffs at Mack, Jefferson North, and Toledo Assembly.”

However, the UAW made clear to Stellantis that they will not back down from grievances and strike authorization votes until “We see job security for every UAW Stellantis facility,” they said. Plans to reintroduce withdrawn grievances and fight on pending grievances within the system are still on the table.

In the new year, the UAW intends to discuss a range of pressing issues with the company. These include unjustified layoffs, Presence at Work Awards unfairly withheld, misuse of emergency scheduling policies, and potential changes to schedules at certain plants to improve work-life balance for workers.

Bad trade deals, such as NAFTA and the USMCA, which led to manufacturing jobs leaving the U.S. to lower-wage countries in order for U.S. corporations to keep increasing maximum profits, contributed to pressing down on workers and their families.

The UAW is not holding its breath for a “free trade” policy that will benefit the working class anytime soon. However, the company may be reconsidering their plans to offshore UAW jobs, Gotinsky indicated.

Stellantis’ new CFO, Doug Ostermann, said that Stellantis has “available capacity in the U.S. that will allow us to adjust” in response to potential changes to trade policy with the incoming Trump Administration (think tariffs).

President-elect Donald Trump has stated his intent to impose 25% tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada, for example. Ostermann said that Stellantis has substantial production in the two countries at “great plants” with “great cost,” according to Detroit Free Press.

“Don’t think that just because one man left the company, everything has changed,” Fain warned UAW members in a video to its membership.

The UAW is planning more strike authorization votes at other plants and facilities early 2025.

Fain and Gotinsky indicated their eagerness to get back to the table with the incoming CEO of Stellantis to hold the company accountable—backed by thousands of auto workers united together.

“Nobody is going to save us. We have to stand up for ourselves…We know Stellantis can afford to keep its promise to its workers.”

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CONTRIBUTOR

Cameron Harrison

Cameron Harrison is a trade union activist and organizer for the CPUSA Labor Commission. Based in Detroit, he was a grocery worker and member of UFCW Local 876 where he was a shop steward. He also works as a Labor Education Coordinator for the People Before Profits Education Fund, assisting labor organizations and collectives with education, organizing strategy and tactics, labor journalism, and trade union support.