Stellantis is facing labor problems on both sides of the Atlantic and the UAW says it’s time to get rid of Carlos Tavares
October 18, 2024 at 16:29
- Italy’s auto unions have launched their first national strike in 20 years, with Stellantis in their sights.
- Stellantis is the primary target as they own many Italian brands like Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, and Maserati.
- The UAW is supporting their Italian counterparts by releasing a new video and launching ShitcanCarlos.com.
The battle between Stellantis and the UAW has officially gone thermonuclear, and this time, the fallout is spreading well beyond American borders. While the UAW cranks up the heat stateside—launching the ShitcanCarlos.com website (we kid you not) and branding CEO Carlos Tavares as “out of control”, things are just as explosive across the Atlantic. In fact, Italian autoworkers have held their first national strike in 20 years, marking a major escalation.
According to the Associated Press, tens of thousands of autoworkers took to the streets of Rome to protest working conditions and secure the future of the Italian auto industry. Stellantis, which owns several Italian brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, and Maserati, is unsurprisingly in the crosshairs.
“We are working one to two days a week when it goes well. So, what we are saying today is that the (ecological) transition cannot be exclusively paid for by the workers,” Riccardo Falcetta, a representative of the UIL metalworkers union, told the AP.
More: UAW Votes In Favor Of Stellantis Strike, Says It’s Time To “Sh!tcan Carlos”
The strike comes shortly after the company paused production of the 500e and announced it would temporarily halt production at their Pomigliano d’Arco, Termoli, and Pratola Serra plants next month. This has fueled anger towards Stellantis and the AP reports the company, and its predecessors, has “slashed its Italian production by nearly 70%” over the past 17 years.
The report also noted that Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has blamed Europe’s emissions push for driving up costs and putting jobs at risk. Regardless of who’s to blame, unions and autoworkers aren’t happy.
In a joint statement, several Italian unions said twenty thousand workers have come together to “relaunch the future of the auto industry in Italy and Europe.” They went on to say the “automotive sector crisis risks having devastating effects on production and employment” and say “responses are urgently needed from the European Union, the [Italian] Government, Stellantis, and component companies.”
Stateside, the UAW released a new video condemning the company’s “broken promises” and reiterating their demand that “Stellantis must get rid of Carlos Tavares.” The timing isn’t a coincidence as the UAW said the video’s release “coincides with a one-day general strike by Italian unions to protest Stellantis’ significant production cuts and the broader impact on metalworkers across Italy.”
The union has also launched a new website called ShitcanCarlos.com, which claims Tavares is “out of control.” It goes onto encourage workers to vote yes on strike authorization votes due to delays at Belvidere Assembly as well as the possible relocation of Dodge Durango production.