the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Feb 26, 2024
Stellantis made 20 BILLION dollars in net profit in 2023! The 38,000 workers ELIGIBLE for profit “sharing” will get an average of 13,860 dollars. That adds up to 527,680,000 dollars going to workers. Just over half a billion dollars.
But in 2023, Stellantis handed 7.1 billion dollars in cash to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. Workers’ “share” was a mere 7% of what the Wall Street types got!
Carlos Tavares, the pompous CEO, had the nerve to say this teeny “share” going to workers is “fair recognition.” This lie from a guy who got 39 million dollars in total compensation in 2023—a 56% boost!
To add insult to injury, Stellantis explained in the Detroit News that while Ford and GM supplemental or temporary workers WILL get profit sharing in 2024, Stellantis workers will not. Only in 2025 will that happen.
But long before 2025, as many as 1,800 Stellantis supplemental employees may be fired. According to an article in Wards Automotive News, a UAW International letter says, “Stellantis … promoted 2,857 of the company’s 5,219 supplemental employees to full-time status.… Stellantis also has told the UAW it expects to keep 500 supplemental employees in a pool to cover for absent workers.… The company has the intent and the direction to significantly reduce the number of (supplemental employees.)” Stellantis is doing this to cut costs and force more work on fewer workers.
When the UAW-Stellantis tentative agreement was coming up for a vote, many workers understood from studying the proposal that there were horrible problems with it. And 30% of workers voted NO! But there were no union meetings where these workers who saw the danger could warn coworkers.
In the contract highlights there was no mention of job cuts. But the union ever-so-delicately spoke of “Job Security for SENIORITY Workers”—so it appears they knew of problems and lied by omission.
This contract gave job insecurity to 1,800 supplementals, many of whom bravely sacrificed on the picket line and thought that they were fighting for a better future for their generation and their families.
To lie by omission in order to sell the contract was a betrayal of the supplemental workers. But it was a lesson for the future. These supplemental workers will go on to other workplaces. They just might become a generation of better organizers—ones who teach their fellow workers not to blindly trust top union officials—working-class leaders who teach that it is important to organize with coworkers to control your own union.