Bernie Sanders rallies in Belvidere to call on Stellantis to keep its promise to autoworkers

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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BELVIDERE — Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders rallied with autoworkers here on Friday to put pressure on Stellantis to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant.

The automaker agreed in its latest contract with the United Automobile Workers to start production of a new vehicle here as part of a nearly $5 billion investment in Belvidere, but it has since delayed those plans. That has led to threats of a nationwide strike by the UAW, and a lawsuit in response from Stellantis saying the union’s strike talks were a breach of contract.

Under that backdrop, Sanders and UAW President Shawn Fain stopped at the UAW Local 1268 Hall for a political rally to call on Stellantis to jump start activity at the plant. UAW leaders also pushed for autoworkers to support Kamala Harris in her bid for president with less than a month before Election Day.

“In 2019 when Trump was president and GM was on strike for 40 days, and Trump did and said nothing when workers were striking, Kamala Harris stood shoulder to shoulder with striking workers,” Fain said. “With her in office, we’re going to see real wins for workers.”

One of the targets of the UAW is the United States Mexico Canada Agreement, a trade deal it says led to more automotive plant closures and companies such as John Deere and Master Lock reducing U.S. production and moving jobs to Mexico and China.

Proponents of the deal say it has increased trade, promoted growth of U.S. exports and created jobs in many industries. Former President Donald Trump has called it the most fair and beneficial trade agreement ever.

The USMCA is up for review in July 2026, and UAW leaders such as Brandon Campbell, the union’s region 4 director, say they don’t want Trump in charge of the deal.

“Trump ain’t somebody who’s going to admit a mistake and then try to fix it. He ain’t the guy to do that. No, he doubles down. He triples down. He blames others, he blames us, and he lashes out,” Campbell said. “That’s what he did with General Motors, announced closure of four American plants when he was the president. He blamed us, the workers. … Trump’s trade deal is a loser and the working class loses under his rule.”

Sanders, who in 2016 and 2020 was the runner-up to win the Democratic nomination for president, began his speech by noting that Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares announced this week his plans to retire in 2026.

Tavares has been a target of the UAW, which sees the CEO as a symbol of corporate greed as he earned a 56% pay increase, a total compensation of $39.5 million, while the company delayed reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant.

“Put the people who made the money for your company back to work,” Sanders said.

Sanders said that Tavares makes more than 500 times that of the average autoworker.

“Stellantis is not some poor, struggling company,” Sanders said. “This is a company that made over $6 billion in profits over the first half of this year. $6 billion in profits over six months, not bad. This is a company that spent over $8 billion in stock buybacks and dividends this year. This is a company that can and must keep its promise to the workers.”

Sanders said Tavares’ earnings were another example of wealth inequality that union workers like those in Belvidere are fighting against.

“Nobody objects to a CEO making a decent compensation package. Nobody objections to corporations making profits, but enough is enough,” Sanders said. “This country belongs to all of us, not just a handful of billionaires.”

Stellantis informed the UAW earlier this year that it would not go forward with its consolidated Mopar Mega Hub in Belvidere this year. Also, it would not begin stamping operations for the Belvidere Mega Hub in 2025. It also delayed production of a midsize truck in Belvidere, which was initially slated for 2027.

The company has said market conditions forced the delay, but it remains committed to the project in the future.

The plant’s future not only affects autoworkers, but other unions as well, said Charlie Laskonis, state organizing coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. It also affects the region’s economy, he said.

“There are lots of jobs in construction, but every time there’s a changeover, maintenance, we always have a presence at the plant,” Laskonis said. “It’s an economic engine for our community. Three-quarters of the workers at the plant live in Winnebago County … it’s big for Belvidere, of course, but it’s also big for Winnebago County and Rockford.”

Sanders appearance is the latest in high-profile rallies centered around the assembly plant, which was shuttered in February 2023. President Joe Biden was here in November, when workers were then celebrating a tentative contract that paved the way for reopening the local plant. Fain was also here then and again in late August.

“We’ve taken Belvidere and made it a national scene,” said Matt Frantzen, president of UAW Local 1268. “People have heard about Belvidere.”

Frantzen said he agreed with a take by Belvidere Mayor Clinton Morris that the plant’s future should rely on the demand of the automotive market, rather than a push for EVs. Key in either approach, he and other UAW members said, was Stellantis keeping its commitment to bring new life to the plant.

“Our members don’t go to work every day because they’re passionate about combustible engines and EV batteries,” Fain said. “We go to work because we want to provide for our families, we want to have dignity in our life and we want to live in a great community.”

Sanders, who stopped briefly with supporters swarming him for selfies outside the Union Hall, said workers can’t allow political rhetoric to divide them at a critical time.

“At the end of the day never forget this, if we do not allow our opponents to divide us up by the color of our skin or where we were born or our sexual orientation,” he said. “I don’t have a PhD in mathematics, but I do know 99% is a hell of a lot larger than 1%.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas