UAW negotiations kicked off this month, with Fain visiting Detroit 3 vegetation on the primary day as an alternative of doing the ceremonial handshakes of years previous with automakers.
“I will be where I think will be the most useful to the organization, to our employees,” Tavares mentioned throughout a media roundtable Wednesday. “With our native administration, now we have the whole lot we have to have constructive, open-minded and collaborative discussions with our union companions, and we’re wanting ahead to having these discussions very quickly.
“We have our own things we’d like to improve. I’m sure the UAW also has its own agenda, and it’s very, very OK to discuss the two topics as soon as possible.”
Tavares mentioned his focus is on his U.S. workers and that he hopes the $14,760 profit-sharing checks that employees obtained this 12 months improved the standard of their lives.
“It was the biggest performance bonus among the Detroit 3,” Tavares mentioned. “It is the result of the performance that we are collectively creating all together. My point of focus is to find a deal with my union partner that continues to improve the quality of living of my people through the sharing of the performance that we generate.”
One of the highest points heading into talks is the way forward for the Stellantis’ Belvidere Assembly Plant that has been offline since February. Stellantis cited a lot of components behind the choice, together with the COVID-19 pandemic, world microchip scarcity and prices associated to creating and constructing EVs.
Tavares mentioned a possible return of the plant, which constructed Jeep Cherokees, will depend upon many components, together with “the speed at which we are doing the new EVs, the cost competitiveness that we can get out of Belvidere.”
He later added that it is “not about do we bring another product or not another product. It is do we create the conditions for that plant to be competitive in [the] midterm, so that then we continue to protect the value creation of our business in the U.S. through the U.S. manufacturing footprint. That’s what we need to address now.”
Source: www.autonews.com
