The last few hours have seen tentative agreements between auto worker unions and the Big Three automakers in both Canada and the U.S.
Stellantis’ deal with the UAW (United Associated Workers) brings excellent news for workers and for fans of pickups. In an official statement on the UAW's YouTube channel, UAW VP Rich Boyer announced that the UAW has “saved Belvidere. Again, we have saved Belvidere... We have won a new vehicle at Belvidere... it will be a mid-size pickup, and we will have two shifts.”
This past February, Stellantis closed the Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois, where it manufactured the Jeep Cherokee. This decision led to the layoff of 1,200 workers. The agreement reached between the union and the manufacturer represents an important new opportunity for those workers still out of work.
Even before production restarts at the plant, those laid off back in February get a win: they will be put back on temporary layoff with pay and health care until they are reinstated in their jobs. The UAW’s Boyer added that Stellantis will create more than 1,000 jobs at a new battery plant in Belvidere.
Stellantis has not issued an official comment, so for the moment it isn’t know exactly what vehicle that will be built at the plant. There’s a good chance it will be the Ram Rampage, which is already in production in Brazil. That truck is a compact and not a mid-size, but it has been seen in testing on American soil.
Given that a battery factory is also planned for the vicinity of the Belvidere plant, we can imagine that that whatever size it is, the new pickup will be electrified, either partially or totally. At the same time, there’s indication the future model will be offered with a gasoline engine. UAW President Shawn Fain said that: "We're creating jobs in Belvidere in the field of combustion vehicles and batteries".
We should know more soon.