{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/peters-leads-senate-colleagues-in-urging-stellantis-to-keep-its-promises-to-uaw-autoworkers", "Peters Leads Senate Colleagues in Urging Stellantis to Keep Its Promises to UAW Autoworkers", "2024-10-24", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "MI", "Gary C. Peters", "P000595", "www.peters.senate.gov", "garypeters", "https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) led a group of 21 colleagues in urging Stellantis to keep promises it made to its autoworkers. In a letter to Stellantis CEO Carlos Taveras, the senators expressed the need for the automotive manufacturing company to honor the collective bargaining agreement signed last year with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and deliver on its commitments to strengthen and expand good-paying union jobs in America.\n\n\u201cWe are writing to express our growing concerns about the failure of Stellantis, under your leadership, to honor the commitments it made to the United Auto Workers (UAW) in last year\u2019s collective bargaining agreement,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cWe urge Stellantis not to renege on the promises it made to American autoworkers and to provide details on the timelines for these investments.\u201d\n\nIn the contract ratified last year, Stellantis committed to:\n\nMake nearly $19 billion in new investments and product commitments in the U.S.\n\nContinue to manufacture the Dodge Durango in Detroit through 2025.\n\nManufacture the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit starting in 2026.\n\nRe-open the plant in Belvidere, Illinois that was \u201cindefinitely idled\u201d last year.\n\nEstablish a parts and customer care Mega Hub in Belvidere.\n\nInstead, Stellantis has taken actions that undermine the obligations made to the UAW and leave \u201cbehind thousands of American workers who built the company into the auto giant it is today,\u201d wrote the senators. These actions may include plans to move production of the next generation Dodge Durango out of the U.S. and into \u201clow-cost\u201d countries like Mexico, as well as delaying planned investments to reopen and expand the Belvidere assembly plant.\n\nThis year, Stellantis has spent over $8 billion on stock buybacks and dividends to benefit its wealthy executives and stockholders. During the first six months of this year, Stellantis has generated over $6 billion in profits, making it one of the most profitable auto companies in the world. The company has also benefited from billions of dollars in financial assistance from American taxpayers and the federal government. In July, the Department of Energy announced Stellantis would receive nearly $335 million in federal dollars to support Belvidere Assembly Plant\u2019s conversion to electric vehicle production.\n\n\u201cWe believe that if Stellantis can afford to spend over $8 billion this year on stock buybacks and dividends, it can live up to the contractual commitments it made to the UAW,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cThis is especially true given the billions of dollars in financial assistance American taxpayers have spent to support your company and the enormous sacrifices autoworkers have been forced to make over many decades.\u201d\n\nJoining Peters on the letter are Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Laphonza Butler (D- CA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Tina Smith (D-MN).\n\nPeters grew up in a union household, where his mother was a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) steward and his father was a member of the National Education Association (NEA). Peters is a proud cosponsor of and has urged Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would strengthen the federal laws that protect workers\u2019 right to form a union freely and fairly. During UAW negotiations last year, Peters met with United Auto Workers (UAW) members in Lansing to show his support and discuss priorities that are important to autoworkers. Peters also joined UAW members on the picket line across Michigan as they negotiated for better wages, benefits, and job security. Following the UAW\u2019s historic contracts last fall, Peters led his colleagues in sending a letter to 13 non-unionized automakers urging them not to illegally block UAW unionization efforts at their manufacturing plants. Peters was joined by UAW Region 1 Director LaShawn English as his guest for President Biden\u2019s State of the Union Address earlier this year.\n\nText of the letter can be found here and below.\n\nDear Mr. Tavares:\n\nWe are writing to express our growing concerns about the failure of Stellantis, under your leadership, to honor the commitments it made to the United Auto Workers (UAW) in last year\u2019s collective bargaining agreement.\n\nIn that contract, ratified by UAW members, Stellantis committed to \u201cestablish long-term stability and job security\u201d for its workforce. The agreement includes nearly $19 billion in new investment and product commitments in the United States, including promises to:\n\n\u00b7 Re-open the plant in Belvidere, Illinois that was \u201cindefinitely idled\u201d last year;\n\n\u00b7 Establish a parts and customer care Mega Hub in Belvidere;\n\n\u00b7 Continue to manufacture the Dodge Durango in Detroit through 2025; and\n\n\u00b7 Manufacture the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit starting in 2026.\n\nWe are deeply concerned that Stellantis is not keeping the promises it made to strengthen and expand good paying-union jobs in America.\n\nSpecifically, Stellantis is now delaying planned investments to reopen and expand the Belvidere assembly plant, leaving behind thousands of American workers who built the company into the auto giant it is today. We are also concerned with reporting that Stellantis is planning to move production of the next generation Dodge Durango out of the United States, after previously announcing layoffs that threaten the economic security and well-being of thousands of autoworkers. Moreover, Stellantis has stated publicly that it plans to source 80% of supply from \u201clow-cost countries\u201d like Mexico. By your own admission, Stellantis\u2019s growth plan hinges on shifting \u201cindustrial production into cost competitive countries\u201d like Mexico, where workers are making substandard wages. These actions violate the obligations Stellantis made to the UAW. We urge Stellantis not to renege on the promises it made to American autoworkers and to provide details on the timelines for these investments.\n\nThis year, Stellantis has spent over $8 billion on stock buybacks and dividends to benefit its wealthy executives and stockholders. Last year, while blue collar auto workers in Belvidere were being laid off indefinitely, you were able to receive a 56 percent pay raise boosting your total compensation to $39.5 million, which made you the highest paid executive among traditional auto companies. During the first six months of this year, Stellantis has generated over $6 billion in profits, making it one of the most profitable auto companies in the world.\n\nWe believe that if Stellantis can afford to spend over $8 billion this year on stock buybacks and dividends, it can and it must live up to the contractual commitments it made to the UAW. This is especially true given the billions of dollars in financial assistance American taxpayers have spent to support your company and the enormous sacrifices autoworkers have been forced to make over many decades.\n\nFor example, the Department of Energy announced in July that nearly $335 million in federal dollars would be going to supporting Belvidere Assembly Plant\u2019s conversion to electric vehicle production. With hundreds of millions of dollars of federal support going towards ensuring strong union jobs stay in the U.S., Stellantis must honor the promises it made to UAW workers and the Belvidere community.\n\nWe urge you to deliver on the commitments you made to the UAW in your 2023 national agreement without further delay.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/peters-leads-senate-colleagues-in-urging-stellantis-to-keep-its-promises-to-uaw-autoworkers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5533461701124907, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}