‘We Saved Belvidere’: Tentative Deal With Stellantis Would Bring New Vehicle And Battery Plant Here
October 28, 2023 at 6:33 pm Kevin Haas
United Auto Workers Local 1268, with several others still inside the building, pose for a photo on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, during a rally at the Belvidere Assembly Plant. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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BELVIDERE — The United Auto Workers have reached a tentative agreement with Stellantis that will bring a new vehicle to the Belvidere Assembly Plant and a new electric battery plant that will add more than 1,000 jobs.
That’s according to a video statement released Saturday evening from UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Vice President Rich Boyer.
“UAW members across the country just showed the entire world the power workers have when they go on strike,” Fain said. “They told us for years that the electric vehicle transition was a death sentence for good auto jobs in this country. … With this agreement we’re proving them all wrong. We’re bringing back both combustion vehicle and battery jobs to Belvidere.”
Boyer said the vehicle would be a mid-sized truck built on two shifts. In addition, Stellantis will add 1,000 jobs at a new battery plant to be built in Belvidere.
“We saved Belvidere,” Boyer said. “From the strength of our stand-up strike, we will bring back thousands of jobs to Belvidere.”
The agreement still needs to be ratified by union members. The next step is a meeting in Detroit on Thursday for elected union leadership.
“It’s a great day in the Stateline,” said state Rep. Dave Vella, a Democrat from Loves Park who worked on the incentive package to encourage Stellantis to stay here. “All the consternation and fear is gone. Belvidere is coming back.”
The timeline for reopening wasn’t specified Saturday night, nor was the location for the battery plant. However, Boyer said local workers will be able to return home if they took other jobs with the company elsewhere.
“Under our contract, members from Belivdere who have been scattered across the country will have the right to return to Belivdere,” he said.
The Belvidere Assembly Plant was idled at the end of February, leading to more than 1,200 workers being laid off.
“I’ve been in constant contact with auto workers, Stellantis executives, UAW representatives, and the White House as the bargaining has unfolded, and I am delighted we are now on the verge of getting this done,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “I look forward to finalizing the state’s economic package and not only reopening the shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere to manufacture electric vehicles, but also co-locating a new battery production facility. This will be thousands of jobs, billions in investment, and a huge win for Illinois.”
The tentative contract also calls for an immediate 11% wage increase on ratification, Fain said. He said workers also won back pre-2009 cost of living adjustments, killed tiers and got three-year wage progression.
“We truly believe that we got every penny possible out of this company,” Fain said. “We left nothing on the table.”
The announcement comes on Day 44 of the strike against the Big 3 automakers.
“Our union is again victorious. We’ve achieved what just weeks ago we were told was impossible,” Fain said. “Over the 44 days we were on strike, Stellantis more than doubled the total value of the proposals they had on the table.”
In 2021, Illinois lawmakers passed the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois Act, which offered tax credits and other incentives for manufacturers of electric vehicles, batteries and other EV components. The state also approved a $400 million fund to allow Illinois to close the deal to bring more electric vehicle production here.
“This is what I’ve been working with state and local leaders toward for two years — securing the plant’s future and saving the thousands of jobs that support families across Boone and Winnebago counties,” said state Sen. Steve Stadelman, who sponsored the law approved in 2021.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
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