Stellantis says it offered 20% raises, future for idled Belvidere workers

“We would be putting the company in jeopardy if we were to agree,” Stewart said. “There were some points we could agree to, points we could not agree to. We’ve just got to continue to get to the table and find a solution, but we need to have good solid movement, thinking and common solutions from both the union and the company to do that.”

Said UAW President Shawn Fain in a statement:

“Today, a Stellantis executive told the press that the company had put forward a proposal to reopen Belvidere Assembly Plant but that they are now taking it back.

“That’s how they see these workers. A bargaining chip.

“Belvidere Assembly was a profitable plant that just a few years ago supported around 5,000 workers and their families. Now that number is zero, and Stellantis wants to keep plating games.

“Their attitude is: Stellantis giveth, and Stellantis taketh away.

“Our attitude is: Save Belvidere.”

Stellantis on Saturday said its latest offer would remove the different wage scale at Mopar parts facilities.

Rich Boyer, vice president of the UAW’s Stellantis department, said during a fiery speech during a Friday rally in downtown Detroit, that the company wants to close six Mopar sites. The UAW has said Stellantis wants the unilateral right to close or sell off 18 facilities, including some assembly plants, powertrain plants and parts depots.

Stewart on Saturday said he wanted to clarify the company’s plans for Mopar.

“The vast majority of that proposal, it’s about modernizing our operations, a lot of it in Mopar, enabling us to run our PDCs, our part distribution centers, in a really efficient manner [and], at the same time, preserving the same number of jobs,” Stewart said. “There’s no job elimination with that. We have a lot of older PDCs which need to be modernized.”