Autoworkers Union, Stellantis Reach Tentative Pact With 25% Wage Hike

BELVIDERE, IL — The United Auto Workers union and officials with Stellantis have reached a tentative agreement on a record contract that would increase wages 25 percent over the course of the 4-plus-year contract, officials with the union and the automaker announced Saturday.

The tentative agreement, which must be ratified by the union, also is expected to restore 1,200 jobs as the plant in Belvidere, which had been shuttered, is to be reopened, union president Shawn Fain said in a video announcement.

Stellantis is the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep, among other brands.

"I would like to thank all the negotiating teams who have worked tirelessly for many weeks to get to this point," said Mark Steward, COO of Stellantis North America. "We look forward to welcoming our 43,000 employees back to work and resuming operations to serve our customers and execut our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan."

He declined additional comment on the agreement.

The UAW has been on strike since mid-September at the three largest automakers in the United States. The union also has secured a similar contract with Ford, Reuters reported; only General Motors remains without a pact.

More than 14,000 workers had been on strike at Stellantis plants in Michigan and Ohio, along with parts manufacturers, the Associated Press reported.

"At Stellantis in particular, we have not only secured a record contract, we have begun to turn the tide in the war on the American working class," Fain said in the announcement on the UAW website. "And we truly are saving the American dream."

The Belvidere plant, which was shut down in early 2023, will reopen and will be producing a midsize truck, UAW vice president Rich Boyer said. That will restore 1,200 jobs. In addition, Stellantis will open a battery plant in Belvidere, adding 1,000 jobs, he said.

Overall, Stellantis committed to add 5,000 jobs, instead of its previous plan to cut 5,000 jobs, Fain and Boyer said.

"We didn’t just win one-time investments. We won the most powerful tool we have to protect those jobs: the right to strike," Fain said. "We not only won the right to strike over plant closures. We won the right to strike over product and investment. That means if the company goes back on their word on any of these plants, we can strike the hell out of them."

"UAW members across the country just showed the entire world the power that workers have when they go on strike. Now we have our most powerful tool at the ready to protect our jobs, protect our communities, and to save the American dream," he said.