Automaker Stellantis has discussed moving pickup truck production from the U.S. to Mexico, union leader says

WARREN, Mich. – Automaker Stellantis has threatened to determination accumulation of the existent Ram 1500 pickup motortruck from a mill successful suburban Detroit to Mexico, a national person said Sunday.

United Auto Workers Vice President Rich Boyer, who heads the union's Stellantis unit, said the automaker has discussed the determination during ongoing declaration negotiations that are occurring simultaneously but separately betwixt the UAW and General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor.

Boyer said the company's plans would see producing a caller all-electric Ram pickup motortruck astatine the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which presently produces astir of the Ram light-duty pickups.

Such a determination would apt person immoderate governmental pushback. It besides would perchance interaction the union's membership, arsenic EVs necessitate less workers to nutrient them. There's besides nary warrant that an all-electric pickup would beryllium arsenic palmy arsenic the existent interior combustion motor (ICE) model, meaning little occupation information for members.

Boyer, speaking to hundreds of national members during a "Sunday Solidarity" rally, didn't clasp backmost his displeasure astir the imaginable plans, calling retired Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares for not caring astir U.S. car workers.

"He don't springiness a s*** astir the American car worker," Boyer said wearing a reddish UAW garment with "UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL." "They person said they privation to instrumentality the Ram 1500 ICE and nonstop it to Mexico."

Stellantis, which already produces immoderate Ram pickups successful Mexico, did not corroborate nor contradict the imaginable move, saying successful a statement: "Product allocation for our U.S. plants volition beryllium connected the result of these negotiations arsenic good arsenic a plant's quality to conscionable circumstantial show metrics including improving quality, reducing absenteeism and addressing wide cost.

"As these decisions are fluid and portion of the discussions astatine the bargaining table, we volition not remark further."

UAW President Shawn Fain said helium believes relocating the motortruck accumulation would "be a immense mistake connected the portion of Stellantis to effort it."

"Those are our jobs and that's our vehicle. We expect to support that work," helium said.

Speaking with CNBC aft the event, UAW's Boyer described the ongoing negotiations with Stellantis arsenic "slow and confrontational."

Fain, who began starring the national earlier this twelvemonth and has taken a much confrontational code with the negotiations, said helium would similar to scope tentative agreements with the companies successful the coming weeks up of the deals expiring astatine 11:59 p.m. ET, Sept. 14.

'When Labor Day hits, we amended person agreements. If we don't, there's going to beryllium problems," Fain said, declining to foretell the likelihood of a onslaught against 1 oregon each 3 of the automakers. "We're not joined to thing close now."

Fain earlier this period publically threw a caller connection from Stellantis into a trash bin during a Facebook Live lawsuit with members.

Contract talks betwixt the national and automakers usually statesman successful earnest successful July up of mid-September expirations of the erstwhile four-year agreements. Typically, 1 of the 3 automakers is the lead, oregon target, institution that the national selects to negociate with archetypal and the others widen their deadlines. However, Fain has said this twelvemonth whitethorn beryllium different, without going into circumstantial details.