Stellantis strike ends, new battery plant in Illinois; GM Lyriq plant sees walkout
UAW has announced that it has come to a tentative agreement with Stellantis to end the six-week strike, including job gains from the reopening of a plant in Belvidere, Illinois and addition of a new battery plant in that location.
Soon after, UAW announced that workers at GM’s plant which makes the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq will go on strike.
Just days after UAW made a tentative deal with Ford, the union has now announced a similar deal with Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler.
Just as with the Ford deal, not every detail is currently available, but will be presented to workers soon. The plan is to present details on Thursday, November 2nd, after which union members will be able to vote whether to accept the deal. Until then, UAW has directed workers to go back to work at Stellantis as a good-faith measure, and to show the remaining company, GM, that they can end the strike at any time once a deal is met.
In a video announcement, UAW President Shawn Fain and Vice President Rich Boyer laid out some of the specifics of the deal with Stellantis.
While we don’t know all of the details yet, some of the headline wins are a 25% general wage increase, plus cost-of-living adjustments. UAW says that the total wage increase from this strike is more than the combined wage increases between 2001-2022, just as was the case with the Ford deal.
For some other workers, wage and working condition increases should far eclipse that 25% increase, though. In particular, some workers at Mopar, Chrysler’s parts arm, and temp workers, will receive larger increases.
Additionally, one big specific win for UAW is the reopening of Belvidere Assembly in Illinois. This plant was idled by Stellantis in February, and was a point of contention in negotiations. UAW says that Stellantis has committed to reopening that plant and building a new 1,000-job battery factory at the facility.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the deal will mean “thousands of jobs, billions in investment, and a huge win for Illinois.”
In total, UAW says that Stellantis had originally planned to cut 5,000 jobs across the company, but that this deal includes commitments to add 5,000 jobs, resulting in a net swing of 10,000 jobs.
This is important because one of the key points of this negotiation is that electric vehicle assembly is likely to require fewer labor hours per car, because EVs have fewer parts. This would theoretically mean fewer auto jobs, or at least fewer hours (an equation which could also be solved by implementing a shorter work week).
They told us for years that the electric vehicle transition was a death sentence for good auto jobs in this country. We stood up and said no.
Shawn Fain, UAW President
In discussions over this strike, interviewers have repeatedly tried to get Fain to badmouth electric vehicles and blame them for wage or job problems, but Fain has never taken the bait, always insisting that the UAW is looking for a “just transition” to electric vehicles that ensures workers still get treated fairly as the industry is upended.
But the strike continues at GM, where a deal has not yet been reached. Earlier this month, GM had “leapfrogged” the other manufacturers in negotiations by agreeing to bring all US GM joint-venture battery plants under the union master agreement, ensuring that battery jobs be treated as well as general auto manufacturing jobs.
But progress since then has apparently been slower, as GM is now the last holdout that has not come to an agreement with UAW.
UAW has called its tactic a “stand-up strike,” where the plan is to start off striking at some facilities, and then gradually expand the strike as time goes on.
As a result, UAW workers have now decided to go on strike at GM’s Spring Hill Assembly Plant in Tennessee. This plant makes the GMC Acadia and the Cadillac XT5 and XT6, but also makes the all-electric Cadillac Lyriq.
It’s interesting timing for this, given that Lyriq production has finally gotten off the ground. After years of slow ramp for GM’s Ultium vehicles, Q3 finally saw a big jump in production and sales of the Lyriq, with 3,108 cars delivered. This was more than double Q2’s previous record of 1,348 cars. So this idling threatens to dampen the momentum behind the Lyriq if a deal is not found soon.
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Leading electric vehicle analyst, author, and industry thought leaders Loren McDonald and Bill Ferro stop by Quick Charge to discuss EV Adoption’s acquisition by Paren, the “crisis” of EV charging reliability, and the real state of the EV market.
Depending on who you listen, EVs are either driving brands to record growth and are about cross that critical 10% of the overall market nationwide, or the future is bleak, the market is down, and EVs just aren’t selling. What’s really going on? Loren and Bill (probably) have some answers.
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Read more: All my favorite EVs, racecars, and robots from Electrify Expo Austin.
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Chevy EV owners in Texas who have Reliant as their electric utility can now charge for free at night with renewable energy.
Over 150 Chevrolet dealerships across Texas are now offering the Reliant Free Charge Nights plan to new EV buyers. With Free Charge Nights, customers can offset their charging costs by receiving credits for electricity used between 11 pm and 6 am. The plan is powered entirely by renewable energy, thanks to the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Rasesh Patel, president of NRG Consumer, says the plan is about making power personal: “We’re excited to help Chevrolet EV drivers offset the cost of charging their vehicle all while having access to a renewable electricity plan.”
This collaboration aims to make EV adoption more appealing by making charging cheaper and greener. GM Energy’s chief revenue officer, Aseem Kapur, emphasized that partnerships like this help build the ecosystem needed to support an all-electric future: “The Reliant Free Charge Nights plan is a great example of how an automaker and an energy company can work together to make EV adoption an easy decision.”
Existing Reliant customers can also sign up for the Free Charge Nights plan. To get started, Chevrolet EV owners need to designate their vehicle on the GM Energy Smart Charging Portal before enrolling in the plan.
Reliant Energy, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, serves over 1.5 million customers in Texas, making it one of the largest electricity providers in the state.
Read more: Texas to get 1 GW AI-powered virtual power plant, enough to power 200,000 homes
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Texas is about to get a major power boost – a new AI-powered virtual power plant (VPP) delivering capacity equivalent to 200,000 homes during peak demand.
NRG Energy is teaming up with Renew Home to bring nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity to the Texas grid by 2035, aiming to make it more resilient while helping residents save on energy costs.
The new VPP will rely on hundreds of thousands of smart thermostats and other connected home devices, making use of AI technology provided by Google Cloud. These devices, like Vivint and Nest smart thermostats, will be offered to eligible customers at no cost. By automating HVAC adjustments, they help shift energy use to when electricity is cheaper, cleaner, and less strained.
NRG and Renew Home have big plans for the VPP. Starting in spring 2025, the companies plan to roll out the program across Texas, installing these smart thermostats in homes served by NRG’s retail electricity providers. Eventually, they plan to add home battery storage and EVs to expand the power plant’s capabilities.
Texas has faced record-breaking energy demands, with peak usage hitting 85 GW in 2023. As the state’s population grows and extreme weather becomes more frequent, VPPs like this one could play a key role in stabilizing the grid. VPPs aggregate a lot of small-scale energy resources, from smart thermostats to home batteries, and use them to help balance supply and demand during times of high stress on the grid.
This nearly 1 GW VPP will be one of the largest of its kind in Texas. NRG’s president of consumer operations, Rasesh Patel, calls it a “pivotal step” for improving customer experience while making Texas’ energy infrastructure more sustainable and resilient.
In addition to Renew Home, NRG is working with Google Cloud to maximize the power plant’s effectiveness. Google Cloud’s AI and analytics tools will help predict weather conditions, forecast renewable generation, and optimize energy usage, all of which will help make energy management smoother for both customers and the grid.
Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home, said:
NRG’s commitment to creating a more resilient and sustainable energy future while also making electricity bills more affordable makes them an ideal partner for co-developing this unique VPP program.
This initiative raises the bar for future-proofing our electricity infrastructure and delivering cost savings to customers.
Read: Chinese solar giant Trina sells its Texas factory a week after it opens
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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
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