Miranda Nazzaro
Mon, August 21, 2023
Stellantis has threatened to move Ram 1500 production to Mexico, union leader says
Automaker Stellantis has threatened to move the production of Ram 1500 pickup trucks from suburban Detroit to Mexico, a union leader said Sunday.
“Then it said they want to take their Ram 1500 [internal combustion engine] and send it to Mexico,” said United Auto Workers (UAW) vice president Rich Boyer at a “Sunday Solidarity” rally in Warren, Mich., on Sunday with hundreds of union members.
Boyer, who leads the union’s Stellantis unit, said the automaker had discussed the move during the ongoing contract negotiations between UAW and the Big Three: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
Negotiations began in early July over pay increases, pensions, career security and concerns over the industry’s shift to electric vehicles (EVs), which require fewer workers to make.
The possibility of moving production of the current Ram 1500 to Mexico fuels automakers’ concerns that the push for EVs will risk their jobs and compensation.
“That’s an American product, it’s going to stay here in America,” Boyer said, calling for the support of union members.
He said Stellantis discussed producing a new all-electric Ram pickup truck at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Sterling, Mich., which currently makes most of the Ram light-duty pickups, according to CNBC.
Boyer called out Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, arguing he does not care about U.S. autoworkers.
“These companies have no respect for us,” Boyer said. “These companies think that you’re overpaid and underworked.”
In a statement shared with The Hill on Monday, Stellantis said, “Product allocation for our U.S. plants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations as well as a plant’s ability to meet specific performance metrics including improving quality, reducing absenteeism and addressing overall cost.
“As these decisions are fluid and part of the discussions at the bargaining table, we will not comment further,” the statement added.
The White House has pushed for accelerated electric vehicle production, fueling the concerns of automaker union members. Under a new proposal released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April, two-thirds of new cars could be electric by 2032.
Last week, the Biden Administration released a statement in response to the contract negotiations, arguing a clean energy economy “should provide win-win opportunities for auto companies and unionized workers.”
“Companies should use their process to make sure they enlist their workers in the next chapter of the industry by offering them good paying jobs and a say in the future of their workplace,” the statement said.
The current contract between UAW and the Big Three expires at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14, giving the two parties less than a month to come to an agreement. Boyer told CNBC that the ongoing negotiations have been “slow and confrontational.”
Mon, August 21, 2023
Stellantis has threatened to move Ram 1500 production to Mexico, union leader says
Automaker Stellantis has threatened to move the production of Ram 1500 pickup trucks from suburban Detroit to Mexico, a union leader said Sunday.
“Then it said they want to take their Ram 1500 [internal combustion engine] and send it to Mexico,” said United Auto Workers (UAW) vice president Rich Boyer at a “Sunday Solidarity” rally in Warren, Mich., on Sunday with hundreds of union members.
Boyer, who leads the union’s Stellantis unit, said the automaker had discussed the move during the ongoing contract negotiations between UAW and the Big Three: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis.
Negotiations began in early July over pay increases, pensions, career security and concerns over the industry’s shift to electric vehicles (EVs), which require fewer workers to make.
The possibility of moving production of the current Ram 1500 to Mexico fuels automakers’ concerns that the push for EVs will risk their jobs and compensation.
“That’s an American product, it’s going to stay here in America,” Boyer said, calling for the support of union members.
He said Stellantis discussed producing a new all-electric Ram pickup truck at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Sterling, Mich., which currently makes most of the Ram light-duty pickups, according to CNBC.
Boyer called out Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, arguing he does not care about U.S. autoworkers.
“These companies have no respect for us,” Boyer said. “These companies think that you’re overpaid and underworked.”
In a statement shared with The Hill on Monday, Stellantis said, “Product allocation for our U.S. plants will depend on the outcome of these negotiations as well as a plant’s ability to meet specific performance metrics including improving quality, reducing absenteeism and addressing overall cost.
“As these decisions are fluid and part of the discussions at the bargaining table, we will not comment further,” the statement added.
The White House has pushed for accelerated electric vehicle production, fueling the concerns of automaker union members. Under a new proposal released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in April, two-thirds of new cars could be electric by 2032.
Last week, the Biden Administration released a statement in response to the contract negotiations, arguing a clean energy economy “should provide win-win opportunities for auto companies and unionized workers.”
“Companies should use their process to make sure they enlist their workers in the next chapter of the industry by offering them good paying jobs and a say in the future of their workplace,” the statement said.
The current contract between UAW and the Big Three expires at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14, giving the two parties less than a month to come to an agreement. Boyer told CNBC that the ongoing negotiations have been “slow and confrontational.”
Former Ford CEO warns UAW members its leader is 'playing a dangerous game'
If the union goes on strike, analysts expect the economic losses to exceed $5 billion over the course of just 10 days.
If the union goes on strike, analysts expect the economic losses to exceed $5 billion over the course of just 10 days.
IAN KRIETZBERG
20 HOURS AGO
United Auto Workers members will decide this week whether to authorize their new leader, Shawn Fain, to call a strike against Detroit automakers when the union's contract expires in September. If the strike goes through, analysts at Anderson Economic Group (AEG) said, the result might be a total economic hit of around $5 billion over the course of 10 days.
The union's previous six-week strike against General Motors (GM) - in 2019 instigated a single-quarter recession in Michigan, according to AEG's CEO Patrick Anderson. That strike involved 48,000 workers at around 50 plants; the pending strike, however, could implicate more workers (143,000) at more companies and more plants.
"Even a short strike would impact economies throughout Michigan and across the nation,” Anderson said.
The union is looking for 40% raises, as well as the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments and greater stability for temporary workers. The new push comes amid concerns over lower employment numbers at new EV factories compared to traditional ones.
Mark Fields, the former Ford (F) president and CEO, thinks that there is a "much higher probability" that the strike will go through this time due in large part to the union's bold new leader. Fain's leadership comes at a time when automakers are going through a "once in a century changeover in propulsion systems," which have them dealing with issues of higher costs and lower margins.
"It's a setup for a very contentious set of discussions," he told CNBC.
Fields, noting that this is Fain's first national negotiation, said that the UAW leader has been very transparent to members about his expectations. But Fields said that might end up backfiring.
"That may paint him into a corner. He may get expectations so high that it might be very difficult when he brings a contract back for the rank and file to ratify it," Fields said, adding that Fain was only elected by a margin of around 500 votes. "He's playing a bit of a dangerous game here, but at the same token, he feels he has a mandate. As one of the past union leaders said, it's easy to take a union out on strike but it takes a leader to bring them back to work."
The negotiations come just a few weeks after UPS and the Teamsters union narrowly avoided a strike in a deal worth about $30 billion.
"The UAW has always felt that they were the benchmark in the union world. They're looking at things like the UPS agreement, but there's a big difference: those businesses are business-to-business businesses," Fields said. "In the automotive world, consumers have many choices. If he decides to win the battle over this negotiation but lose the war over time in terms of competitiveness, that means less workers for them.
"Wages don't matter much if you don't have jobs."
20 HOURS AGO
United Auto Workers members will decide this week whether to authorize their new leader, Shawn Fain, to call a strike against Detroit automakers when the union's contract expires in September. If the strike goes through, analysts at Anderson Economic Group (AEG) said, the result might be a total economic hit of around $5 billion over the course of 10 days.
The union's previous six-week strike against General Motors (GM) - in 2019 instigated a single-quarter recession in Michigan, according to AEG's CEO Patrick Anderson. That strike involved 48,000 workers at around 50 plants; the pending strike, however, could implicate more workers (143,000) at more companies and more plants.
"Even a short strike would impact economies throughout Michigan and across the nation,” Anderson said.
The union is looking for 40% raises, as well as the reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments and greater stability for temporary workers. The new push comes amid concerns over lower employment numbers at new EV factories compared to traditional ones.
Mark Fields, the former Ford (F) president and CEO, thinks that there is a "much higher probability" that the strike will go through this time due in large part to the union's bold new leader. Fain's leadership comes at a time when automakers are going through a "once in a century changeover in propulsion systems," which have them dealing with issues of higher costs and lower margins.
"It's a setup for a very contentious set of discussions," he told CNBC.
Fields, noting that this is Fain's first national negotiation, said that the UAW leader has been very transparent to members about his expectations. But Fields said that might end up backfiring.
"That may paint him into a corner. He may get expectations so high that it might be very difficult when he brings a contract back for the rank and file to ratify it," Fields said, adding that Fain was only elected by a margin of around 500 votes. "He's playing a bit of a dangerous game here, but at the same token, he feels he has a mandate. As one of the past union leaders said, it's easy to take a union out on strike but it takes a leader to bring them back to work."
The negotiations come just a few weeks after UPS and the Teamsters union narrowly avoided a strike in a deal worth about $30 billion.
"The UAW has always felt that they were the benchmark in the union world. They're looking at things like the UPS agreement, but there's a big difference: those businesses are business-to-business businesses," Fields said. "In the automotive world, consumers have many choices. If he decides to win the battle over this negotiation but lose the war over time in terms of competitiveness, that means less workers for them.
"Wages don't matter much if you don't have jobs."
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