The head of Stellantis in North America is pushing back after UAW President Shawn Fain recently tossed the company’s contract proposal in the garbage.
Mark Stewart, chief operating officer for Stellantis North America, said he was “incredibly disappointed” to see Fain’s online communications earlier in the week, presumably referring to Fain’s dramatic Facebook Live video on Tuesday where he described the proposal as “trash.”
Stellantis, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat brands, is negotiating with the United Auto Workers union, along with Ford and General Motors, ahead of the expiration of their contracts next month. The talks and the lead-up to them have been marked by assertive comments from the union and predictions from numerous industry watchers of a strike.
Stewart, in a letter to employees Friday posted on a company website focused on negotiations, suggested that Fain’s approach was counterproductive.
“It does not fairly represent what is happening in these negotiations. The theatrics and personal insults will not help us reach an agreement that continues our proud history of providing good wages and benefits to our employees and maintaining Stellantis’ ability to be competitive in the market. These negotiations are critical and require cool heads and a focus on reality from everyone involved,” the letter said.
Stewart also dismissed the idea that the company isn’t focused on UAW demands, which include “double-digit pay increases,” restoration of cost-of-living adjustments and a right to strike over plant closures, among other issues.
“Let me assure you that the company is taking the negotiations process very seriously. Our negotiators are listening to the union’s position and seeking to understand their point of view,” the letter said, noting that “we expect the same courtesy and professionalism from Mr. Fain. At this very early stage, no one should jump to any conclusions about the outcome of this process.”
The UAW made a point previously to highlight the fact that Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares chose to skip the opening of contract talks last month and that Stewart was late to the meeting, which Fain said marked “the beginning of the most critical set of bargaining in this company’s and our workers’ history.”
Harley Shaiken, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, told the Free Press that Tavares’ decision not to attend was “100% a miscalculation” and that “symbolism matters in politics and negotiations.”
Fain and other union officials have repeatedly pointed out that the automakers have been raking in billions in profits in recent years while providing millions of dollars in compensation to their top leaders. Union leaders say the companies should be willing to share more of the profits with the rank-and-file.
Fain, in his Facebook appearance, according to previous Free Press reporting, asserted that “Stellantis isn’t listening. … Stellantis knows our members deserve more.”
The company proposal, however, according to Fain, sought major concessions on everything from vacations to temporary worker caps.
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“Stellantis’ proposals are … an insult to our members’ hard work over the last four years,” Fain said, according to Free Press reporting. “Rather than honoring the sacrifices made by the employees, management chose to spit in our faces.”
Automakers, however, have warned that the cost of the electrification transition and competitive pressures limit their ability to meet union expectations while pointing to big profit-sharing checks that have gone to workers.
Stewart, in his letter, also said that “agreeing to Mr. Fain’s demands could endanger our ability to make decisions in the future that provide job security for our employees. This is a losing proposition for all of us —employees, families and customers.”
Fain and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, held a joint online session Thursday during which they addressed many themes that the UAW has been highlighting, including extreme wealth disparity that Fain has described as criminal. They also spoke with one worker each from Ford, GM and Stellantis, who described the challenges of even affording the vehicles they help produce because of low pay and the demands they face that sometimes test the mental health of workers.
Perhaps the most dramatic moment during that session came when Michelle Collins, who works at a GM facility in Indiana, described working 12-hour shifts, 90 days straight in 2016 during a vehicle launch in Tennessee. Sanders called that “pretty crazy stuff” and had Collins repeat her comments because he didn’t think many people understand what workers deal with, noting that “I could not survive that. … I don’t know how many people could.”
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.