After backing Democratic Kamala Harris’s candidacy in 2024, Shawn Fain shocked many observers by strongly supporting President Donald Trump’s tariffs. But the head of the United Auto Workers Union is now backing down. While he still backs tariffs targeting the auto industry he has dubbed Trump’s broader trade war “reckless.” Headlight.News has more.
Stellantis will reopen a now-shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, the company’s U.S. chief operating officer told employees in an e-mail. The factory will produce a new midsize Ram pickup, however, rather than the EV originally planned for the facility....
UAW President Shawn Fain used a prime-time speech during the opening of the Democratic National Convention to warn of a possible strike against Stellantis. Speaking out against what he described as “corporate greed,” Fain accused the Euro-American automaker of reneging on investments promised as part of a settlement union and management reached during contract talks last autumn.
After winning a historic vote at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga last month, the United Auto Workers Union takes aim at a repeat victory as workers at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa cast their ballots. But the UAW faces strong local opposition from, among others, Gov. Kay Ivey who declared “Alabama is not Michigan,” as she signed a bill to discourage future union efforts.
In what could be a critical development for the United Auto Workers Union, employees at the Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Alabama are expected to file the paperwork needed to set up a vote aimed at organizing the factory. Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee made a similar move last month.
With no major progress reported in contract talks with Detroit’s Big Three automakers, the UAW ordered nearly 7,000 workers to walk out at the most profitable plant operated by Stellantis, its Ram pickup line in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights.
The union’s militant leader, Shawn Fain, says if negotiations don’t improve, the stand up strike is going to grow. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he’s coming to Detroit to meet with union members, but Fain says Trump is the problem the UAW is battling. Details at Headlight.News.