Stellantis planned the kickoff for its “Greenest Initiative” Thursday to showcase a three-year, $1 million effort to support the east-side neighborhoods around its Detroit Assembly Complex, but protesters, doing their best to drown out the assembled speakers, criticized the world’s No. 4 automaker for “environmental racism.”
The contrast highlighted conflicting views around a development touted for its influx of thousands of jobs and for creating the city’s first new auto assembly plant in three decades.
City, state and company leaders have trumpeted the economic impact on a struggling area of the city, but outspoken voices have risen frequently to offer a competing narrative, of a company more concerned with profits than the health of residents.
Stellantis, which was formed in January after Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ merger with Peugeot maker PSA Group, is investing $2.5 billion to transform an idled engine plant into a facility that will produce the upcoming 2021 Grand Cherokee L SUV and update the nearby Jefferson North Assembly, where the current versions of the Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango are built.
Before the dozen or so chanting protesters made it difficult to absorb the company message, Ron Stallworth, Stellantis’ external affairs lead for Wayne County, stressed that the efforts being announced were “over and above” previous company commitments.
“The notion of being a good corporate citizen is important to us. And enduring environmental impacts of our efforts are especially important and timely in this initiative. Ultimately, we are following through on our commitment to improve the environment and enhance the quality of life for residents on the east side,” Stallworth said.
Thursday’s event was held at a stormwater park at Kercheval and Beniteau built in connection with the assembly complex project. It was tied to a groundbreaking of a neighborhood education pavilion to be completed in the fall on the site, and to highlight the planting of 1,100 trees in the area, upgraded landscaping and the addition of a walking path and installation of an ambient air quality monitoring station on the north end of the complex’s Mack plant. Stallworth said the station is the only one in the city.
The company has also emphasized its outreach to the area, and Stallworth on Thursday said there had been 75 community meetings.
But the company’s message has not always been well received by some residents and activists, who in the past have included U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit and state Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit. Tlaib has previously questioned the breakdown of jobs related to the new plant. On Thursday, the company provided a handout highlighting its hiring of Detroiters, saying that 5,700 Detroiters had been hired so far as a result of its investment, with 2,100 Detroiters hired for its Mack plant team in addition to 1,750 UAW transfers, and that an additional 3,600 Detroiters had been hired at other Stellantis facilities.
Tanisha Burton, 45, was among the protestors. She said she moved to Beniteau three years ago from Taylor and now requires daily treatments for asthma, something that she never experienced before. She’s concerned about the health of her three grandchildren who visit her home every weekend and her 87-year-old grandfather who now lives with her.
She and others feel the company should do more for residents who live on Beniteau, which is separated from the plant by a large concrete sound barrier, which critics have compared to the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Murals have been planned for the wall, but they’ve been delayed because of the pandemic, according to the company.
Burton didn’t focus on the wall during her remarks to a Free Press reporter. Instead, she was more concerned with issues such as noise and odor from the plant.
“I shouldn’t smell it in my home. It’s a foul smell,” Burton said. “We hear noise that wakes us up.”
She also referenced a key complaint of protesters, who want more money for home repairs or relocation. They say $15,000 to facilitate repairs is not enough. The company said $1.8 million has been provided for home repair grants in the area.
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Protesters, carrying signs with messages such as “We want justice for Beniteau residents,” and chanting a variety of colorful messages, at one point even marched behind the podium where a handful of speakers, including state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, and representatives of several groups had spoken about the environmental merits of the company’s outreach.
Stephanie Broddie, a teacher in the advanced manufacturing career academy at Southeastern High School, had her speech interrupted briefly as Stallworth stepped in.
“I’m going to allow Ms. Broddie to continue, but we have a demonstration obviously. And the thing to realize, this is a public space although it’s private property so we would like people to enjoy the space, to use the space productively, and I guess people have different ideas of what productive use is,” he said.
Afterward, Broddie said she struggled with the focus of the protest.
She explained that her students would never have considered going into a field like engineering without the exposure they’ve received through Stellantis’ partnership with the school.
“They all thought manufacturing was just an assembly job, but Stellantis came in and gave to my kids an introduction to engineering, human resources,” said Broddie, who lives on Detroit’s west side.
“There’s just so much that they’re introducing, that these kids have an opportunity now to think about and … that’s what they’re not getting,” she said of the protesters.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.