Stellantis said Sunday it reached a tentative agreement with United Auto Workers Local 1166 that will end a strike at company’s casting plant in Kokomo, Indiana.
The agreement must be ratified by Local 1166 members. The vote will follow informational meetings about the new deal throughout the day Monday.
Some 1,200 members of UAW Local 1166 in Kokomo, Indiana went on strike Saturday, shutting down the plant in a dispute over working conditions.
Union demands
The strikers want the company to provide them with a safe and comfortable place to work. Among their demands are for management to repair, replace and maintain the HVAC systems, address other health and safety issues, provide uniforms for workers, and adjust some work rules, the UAW said in statement after the work stoppage began.
“Stellantis claims it has no money to meet the basic needs of UAW Local 1166 members while, at the same time, it is making record profits and investing billions in a new battery plant across the street,” said UAW Vice President and Director of the Stellantis Department Cindy Estrada. “This strike represents UAW Local 1166 members telling Stellantis enough is enough,” the union statement said.
The bargaining committee for Local 1166 said in a post the Local’s website the union sought for more than three years to resolve the issues of excessive heat inside the plant, which makes components used in engine and transmission used in Dodge, Ram and Jeep productions.
Bargaining hits an impasse
“We bargained diligently over the last three years with the corporation, and they showed no respect for the bargaining nor their employees,” the Local 1166 said in a statement. The dispute appears to have intensified this summer as temperatures reach 130 degrees, union members noted on social media.
“We remain available in continue negotiations with the corporation in securing the agreement that our members deserve and re-establish the respect that the corporation owes our membership,” the union statement said.
The company said it was talking with the union to resolve the issues.
“Stellantis reaffirms its commitment to providing a safe and healthy work environment for all employees. After bargaining in good faith for two days and presenting an offer we believed addressed the union’s concerns, we are disappointed by the UAW’s decision to walk out. We will look to get back to the table as soon as possible to resume negotiations to reach an agreement on a local contract, Ann Marie Fortunate, Stellantis spokesperson said in an email.
Walkout may hurt North American production
The company did not offer any information about the potential impact of the strike.
The Kokomo casting plant is part of a network of plants around Kokomo, Indiana, which builds engines and transmissions for Stellantis products, which have been in short supply for the past couple of years as semiconductor shortages have crimped automotive production around the world.
Stellantis also recently announced plans to build a battery plant near Kokomo.
The walkout, which comes as Stellantis employees are due a 3% raise under the terms of the contract signed in 2019, is the first local strike in U.S. at a plant belonging to Stellantis, which was created in 2021 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group.
The walkout in Kokomo also could be harbinger of the union’s bargaining strategy in 2023 when the union is very likely to make Stellantis its target during the negotiations, which begin next summer.
The union struck General Motors in 2019 and the union leaders are under pressure from members to negotiate new contracts that will include pay weekly pay increase, cost-of-living protection and pension improvements, particularly for newer employees.