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Citing Glut of Stock Buybacks, US Lawmakers Demand Stellantis Uphold Contract With UAW
"We 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."
Oct 24, 2024
In what the United Auto Workers hailed as "a powerful show of solidarity," scores of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday sent letters to "Big Three" automaker Stellantis and its CEO, Carlos Tavares, urging them to honor their contractual obligation to their employees, protect American jobs, and stop making excuses amid record profits and multibillion-dollar stock buybacks and dividends.
"We 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's collective bargaining agreement," says one letter led by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and signed by 18 of their Democratic colleagues.
"We urge Stellantis not to renege on the promises it made to American autoworkers and to provide details on the timelines for these investments," the senators wrote.
Meanwhile, 56 members of the Congressional Labor Caucus led by Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) sent a separate letter, this one to Stellantis' board of directors, calling on Chrysler's parent company to "follow through on promises to workers to invest in its domestic workforce."
"Given the significant governmental financial support for Stellantis over the years, we have become alarmed by a steady stream of reports indicating your plans to lay off auto workers and move production out of the United States, and that you are failing to honor contractual commitments that Stellantis made as part of the 2023 national collective bargaining agreement," the letter states.
Last November, UAW workers at the Big Three—GM, Ford, and Stellantis—ended a six-week "stand-up strike" and signed new contracts with better pay, benefits, and working conditions. Stellantis committed to making nearly $19 billion in new domestic investments, reopening its "indefinitely idled" Belvidere, Illinois plant, continue manufacturing the Dodge Durango SUV in Detroit through 2025, and build the next-generation Durango in the city starting in 2026, among other promises.
However, according to the senators' letter:
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 "low-cost countries" like Mexico. By your own admission, Stellantis' growth plan hinges on shifting "industrial production into cost-competitive countries" like Mexico, where workers are making substandard wages. These actions violate the obligations Stellantis made to the UAW.
"Taxpayers are currently funding consumer incentives for several Stellantis vehicles and Stellantis is slated to receive $585 million under the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program," the House lawmakers noted in their letter. "Under this program, Stellantis is on track to pocket $335 million to reopen the Belvidere Assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. As stewards of taxpayer funding, we have a responsibility to ensure these investments benefit the public interest."
"We hope it is clear to you that the American people will not tolerate taxpayer subsidies for a company that is cutting production and slashing jobs—all the while it increases executive compensation, dividends to shareholders, and stock buybacks," the letter adds.
The senators noted that "this year, Stellantis has spent over $8 billion on stock buybacks and dividends to benefit its wealthy executives and stockholders, and that "last year, while blue-collar auto workers in Belvidere were being laid off indefinitely, you were able to receive a 56% 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," the letter adds. "We 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."
Last week, the UAW published a powerful video in which union president Shawn Fain makes some of the same demands that are in the lawmakers' letters.
"For years, this company has picked us off, plant by plant, and our leadership lacked the will and the means to fight back," Fain said in the video. "Those days are over."
Fain continued:
Stellantis management has launched a campaign of intimidation and harassment against our members, our local unions, and the International UAW to try to get us to back down from the fight to save our jobs.
I have bad news for Stellantis: We're not going anywhere.
Their corporate lawyers are claiming that our fight to keep jobs in Belvedere, Detroit, and America is based on what they call "sham grievances."
But here's the real sham: Over the past nine weeks, Stellantis has spent over a billion dollars on stock buybacks, all while saying they can't afford to keep their commitments to their own employees. In fact, Stellantis has spent $3 billion on stock buybacks this year alone.
The real sham is this campaign of intimidation and interference in our union's business. Stellantis managers are calling members, threatening their jobs. They're emailing our local presidents threatening lawsuits. This is what happens when a CEO is cornered and isolated. His dealers in America and Europe are turning against him. His suppliers and shareholders are suing him, and he's pushing our customers away.
And the sham is that he will walk away with a golden parachute of millions and millions of dollars, while American autoworkers are left holding the bag.
"The sham took place this week when he was asked about stepping down or being replaced, Carlos Tavares said, and I quote, 'I signed a contract,'" Fain said. "Well, Carlos, the workers at Stellantis signed a contract too, and it's time for you to honor it."
Calling on UAW members to sign a strike authorization pledge over Stellantis' broken promises, Fain vowed that "we will once again save this company from mismanagement, from corporate greed, and from killing tens of thousands of good jobs."
"But only if we stick together," he stressed. "So, are you in? If you are, sign your strike authorization pledge today. And you can do that by going to shitcancarlos.com."
"Let the company know where you stand," Fain added. "And together, let's tell Stellantis: The days of plant closures are over, and Carlos Tavares needs to go."
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After Bad Gaza Poll, Biden Told to Choose 'Option That Upholds Human Rights'
A New York Times/Sienna College survey found that the U.S. president's handling of the Gaza crisis is unpopular with voters across the political spectrum.
Dec 19, 2023
The New York Timessuggested Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden has "few politically palatable options" after a survey the newspaper conducted with Siena College showed that his handling of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip is broadly unpopular with the American electorate.
Matt Duss, a former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), responded that Biden's choice is clear.
"He should choose the option that upholds human rights and international law, which is what he promised during his campaign," wrote Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy. "Support a cease-fire."
The Times/Siena College poll of U.S. voters found that Biden's current approach—which has consisted of unconditional military support for Israel accompanied by mild calls for the protection of Gaza civilians and opposition to a lasting cease-fire—has just 33% support and 57% opposition.
Among young voters who were critical to Biden's 2020 victory over former President Donald Trump, the opposition is even more pronounced, with 73% of those between the ages of 18 and 29 saying they disapprove, according to the new survey. Forty-seven percent of young voters said they believe Biden is too supportive of Israel, while just 6% said he's too supportive of the Palestinians.
The survey's findings amplified concerns that, in addition to rendering himself complicit in genocide, Biden is alienating key elements of the Democratic base by arming the Israeli military as it carries out mass atrocities in the Gaza Strip.
"Yet another major poll finds that Biden is killing his own reelection bid with his inhumane and strategically nonsensical Gaza policy," Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote on social media.
The survey was released ahead of an expected United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution calling for a "suspension of hostilities." A previous version of the resolution called for a "cessation of hostilities," but the text was reportedly watered down in an effort to prevent the U.S. from once again wielding its veto power.
As the Biden administration's opposition to a sustained cease-fire leaves the U.S. increasingly isolated on the world stage, the Times/Siena College poll found that 44% of U.S. voters—including 59% of Democrats—believe Israel should "stop its military campaign in order to protect against civilian casualties, even if not all Israeli hostages have been released."
Sixty-five percent of Democratic voters believe Israel should stop its assault on Gaza to prevent additional civilian deaths "even if Hamas has not been fully eliminated" in line with the Israeli government's stated objective.
During a meeting last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly urged the far-right leader to transition to a "lower intensity" form of warfare in Gaza "in a matter of weeks, not months," the latest signal that the Biden administration is feeling domestic and international pressure as the humanitarian catastrophe worsens and the death toll climbs.
"I don't want to see any baby die. So, first of all, we've got to take that on. We've got to get a cease-fire. This has to stop."
Shira Lurie, assistant professor of American History at Saint Mary's University, warned in an op-ed for the Toronto Star on Monday that Biden's continued arming of Israel and opposition to a permanent cease-fire "could have severe ramifications in the electoral college" in 2024 "as several key states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, have significant Muslim populations."
A lawmaker from one of those states, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), said in an NBC News interview on Sunday that "there's a lot that has to be done" for Biden to win back the votes of those who are furious over his support for Israel's decimation of Gaza.
"All of us in this country need to understand what's happening in Gaza right now. You can fight about how many thousands of people have been killed, but 6,000 to 8,000 children have been killed," said Dingell. "Eighty-five percent of the people in Gaza have had to leave their homes. They're living in shelters. Disease is going up. There's one toilet for 220 people, one shower for 4,500 people. They don't have food. They don't have medicine. They don't have utilities."
"I can't tell you the number of families that I've spoken to who've lost entire families," she continued. "We've got to show some empathy and compassion. A Jewish baby and a Palestinian baby are babies. I don't want to see any baby die. So, first of all, we've got to take that on. We've got to get a cease-fire. This has to stop."
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Baltimore Becomes Latest US City to Officially Endorse Medicare for All
"Every Baltimore resident deserves healthcare whenever they need it," said one local pastor who backed the resolution. "It's time to join every other developed nation in making healthcare a guaranteed human right."
Nov 21, 2023
Baltimore on Monday became the latest of over 100 U.S. municipalities to officially endorse a national healthcare program, commonly called Medicare for All.
The passage of a Medicare for All resolution—introduced by Democratic Baltimore City Councilmembers Kristerfer Burnett and Odette Ramos—puts Maryland's largest city in a growing group of municipalities including Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Austin, and Washington, D.C. that have endorsed federally funded universal healthcare programs.
"I want to thank the advocates who have been pushing these resolutions across the country to try and show that there are municipalities that understand that our constituents, in order to fully thrive, need access to healthcare," Burnett said Monday.
"No one should be forced to make the desperate choice between paying for insulin or groceries."
Local Rev. Alvin C. Hathaway Sr., pastor of the Union Baptist Church, told the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen that "every Baltimore resident deserves healthcare whenever they need it."
"No one should be forced to make the desperate choice between paying for insulin or groceries," Hathaway added. "It's time to join every other developed nation in making healthcare a guaranteed human right."
According to U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by Public Citizen, more than 1 in 5 Baltimore residents live in poverty, with 6.7% of residents under age 65 uninsured.
The Baltimore City Health Department published a report in 2020 that said, in part:
It is impossible to discuss the health and well-being of Baltimore City's residents without applying the lens of health equity and systemic disparities. While the overall mortality rate in Baltimore City has declined over the past decade, the city still has a mortality rate nearly 30% higher than the rest of the state, and ranks last on key health outcomes compared to other jurisdictions in Maryland.
This reality is compounded by a series of complicated systemic social, political, economic, and environmental obstacles. With more than 1 in 3 of Baltimore's children below the federal poverty line and more than 30% of Baltimore households earning less than $25,000 per year, income, poverty, and race have an enormous impact on health outcomes.
Jean Ross, president of National Nurses United, said that "every day, we nurses see the human cost of our patients delaying care or going without care, simply because they can't afford it, and that's why we need Medicare for All."
"We're grateful to the city of Baltimore for joining more than 100 other cities around the country in passing a resolution in support of Medicare for All," Ross added. "The grassroots movement to guarantee healthcare to all in the United States is growing every day."
Earlier this year, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) in reintroducing Medicare for All legislation.
"The American people understand, as I do, that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege," Sanders said at the time. "As we speak, there are millions of people who would like to go to a doctor but cannot afford to do so. That is an outrage."
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