The United Auto Workers union sent 6,800 Stellantis employees to the picket line Monday morning in a surprise, targeted strike at the company’s Ram truck facility.
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant is Stellantis’ “largest plant and biggest moneymaker,” UAW said in a statement Monday. The plant, about a half-hour north of Detroit, in Sterling Heights, Michigan, produces the Ram 1500 pickup.
The union said the company, which makes vehicles under the Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler brands, has “the worst proposal on the table” in its negotiations on pay, converting temporary workers to full time and cost-of-living adjustments.
“Despite having the highest revenue, … the highest profit margins, and the most cash in reserve, Stellantis lags behind both Ford and General Motors in addressing the demands of their UAW workforce,” the UAW said.
The Ram pickup trucks are Stellantis’ best-selling vehicles in the US market. It sold 332,440 Ram pickups in the first nine months of this year. But it is not the only plant that builds the Ram 1500. They are also produced at a nonunion plant in Mexico, as well as another UAW-represented plant in Warren, Michigan.
This is the second “surprise” targeted strike in two weeks by the UAW. The first was at Ford on October 11.
On Friday, Stellantis said, “Negotiations between Stellantis and the UAW continue to be productive, building on the momentum from the past several weeks. We have made progress on narrowing the gaps on significant issues.”
CNN has reached out to Stellantis for comment on this expanded strike.
There are now more than 40,000 UAW members on strike as it enters its sixth week. The Big Three automakers have laid off thousands of workers as a result. The first four weeks of the strike has had an economic impact of $7.7 billion, according to Anderson Economic Group.
Read the full article here