Stellantis NV CEO Carlos Tavares speaks to the media at the Stellantis automotive manufacturing plant in Sochaux, France, Thursday, October 3, 2024.
Nathan Lane | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Detroit- Strantis The United Auto Workers union is suing the United Auto Workers, escalating a months-long battle between the transatlantic automaker and U.S. unions, CNBC reported.
In a confirmed internal message sent to employees on Friday, the company said it was suing the UAW and the local California chapter that voted to authorize a strike at Stellantis’s Los Angeles parts distribution center.
“This lawsuit will hold both international and local unions liable for lost revenue and lost production resulting from illegal strikes,” Tobin Williams, Stellantis’ senior vice president of human resources for North America, said in an email.
An overwhelming majority of UAW members at Stellantis’s Los Angeles parts distribution center voted to ask the International Executive Council to authorize a strike if the company and the union cannot reach a settlement. said Friday morning.
On August 7, 2024, in Romulus, Michigan, USA, United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain made a speech in front of U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz address attendees at a campaign rally.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
The complaint seeks to “prevent and/or remedy breaches by the UAW,” according to a copy of the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
If the union does strike, the court “should award Stellantis monetary damages for the breach of contract,” the suit said.
UAW President Shawn Fain addressed the lawsuit in a letter to Stellantis union leadership on Friday. He called the move and other actions by the company “desperate actions by desperate executives who are out of control.”
“Our legal team has complete confidence in our right to strike. The company’s legal threats are designed to intimidate us, so we will not fight back,” Fein said.
The dispute between the two sides centers on the union’s accusation that Strantis failed to live up to its contractual obligations in an agreement the two sides reached late last year. Stellantis has repeatedly cut factory output, laid off workers and delayed potential investments outlined in the 2023 contract.
Fein has often said the union would strike if needed, but Strantis argued that would be illegal under the contract.
The automaker argued that wording in the contract allowed it to change plans based on market conditions, factory performance and other factors.
The company reiterated that position in the lawsuit, citing the “311 letter,” which included the company’s anticipated investments: “Future investments planned in the letter are conditional, subject to company approval, and may be subject to these business factors.” Change due to unexpected circumstances.
The lawsuit comes the same day Fein and union members held their latest rally against Strantis in suburban Detroit.
“We are here today for one reason. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is out of control, and UAW members once again need to save this company,” Fein said during the event. “A strike will weaken this company. If we have to strike, it will be Stellantis’s decision because they have not fulfilled their commitments.”
The union and several local chapters have filed complaints against the automakers over contractual obligations and other issues.
In its lawsuit, Strantis called the grievances a sham designed to “justify a mid-contract strike against Strantis that would otherwise violate the (contract’s) no-strike clause.”
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