FCA, Now Stellantis Will Pay $30 Million In UAW Labor Scandal:

Company Pleads Guilty In District Court...

Robert S. Miller March 2, 2021

Chrysler World Headquarters and Technology Center. (Stellantis).

The former automaker, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has pleaded guilty to paying off United Auto Workers (UAW) leaders in order to gain concessions during negations that affected the contacts of thousands of union members. FCA indeed admitted it was guilty of conspiring to violate the Labor Management Relations Act in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Monday.

“RAM Three-Peat” Banner On The Tower Of Stellantis North America Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. (5thGenRams).

FCA’s plea follows a series of guilty pleas from former UAW leaders who have bestowed gifts totaling more than $3.5 million in cash and other items such as meals, golf outings, clothing, parties, and other things through the jointly ran training center located in Warren, Michigan during an 8-year period.

Chris Pardi, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for FCA-North America, who represented the company during the federal court proceedings stated that “one or more persons acting in the interests of FCA US agreed to pay and deliver and willfully paid and delivered more than $3.5 million in prohibited payments and things of value to officers and employees of the UAW”.

Former UAW Vice President, General Holiefield (far right) during a press conference in 2012. (Stellantis).

The former head of FCA labor relations, Al Iacobelli, had plotted a scheme involving five UAW officials and a spouse, which included the late UAW Vice President, General Holiefield, who oversaw the negotiations between the UAW and the automaker. Iacobelli claimed he eliminated a $262,000 home mortgage in 2014 for Holiefield, using training center money. Holiefield passed away in 2015.

Iacobelli was sentenced to 5 1/2-years in prison in 2018, with a sentence reduced by 18 months due to this cooperation. Holiefield’s spouse was found guilty of tax fraud and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and a fine of $25,000, that same year. Holiefield’s successor, Norwood Jewell, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. His plea deal listed $60,000 in meals and golf paid with training center credit cards.

Former UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell at the grand opening of the WCM Academy Indiana facility. (Stellantis).

FCA will pay a $30 million fine to the U.S. government. An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the end of the training center as well as handle other tasks. Sentencing is officially scheduled for June 21.

FCA merged with French automaker Peugeot S.A. (PSA) in January to form the new identity Stellantis, the fourth-largest global automaker by volume.

Video Source: WXYZ 7 Detroit

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Jared B Mar 02, 2021 Pinned

Stellantis has announced that it has indefinitely laid off 150 employees at its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois earlier this week. The plant currently produces the midsized Jeep® Cherokee SUV, which has had several pauses in production recently due to decreased global demand and semiconductor chip shortages which have plagued the entire automotive industry … (read full article...)

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patfromigh Feb 27, 2021 #1

How many RAV4s did Toyota sell in the US last year? How about the Chevy Equinox?

The Jeep Cherokee needs a serious update under the hood to be competitive again. It also needs to stop being a fleet queen. The strange thing is the competitive makes don't really have all that great of a powertrain either. The Atkinson cycle four in the RAV4 bucks and surges, while the tiny turbo four in the Chevy can be tepid at times. I guess what Stellantis needs to do is seriously decide what kind of vehicle their D-segment Jeep needs to be. Right now all they are doing is digging themselves into a deeper hole.

Should a bad Jeep displace a good Chrysler or Dodge on the production line? There is no doubt the contemporary sedan concept is dead. A Chrysler branded vehicle styled after the AR Kamel concept with the 200 sedan drivetrain would have been a good replacement for the 200 sedan at Belevidere. Well that can't happen anymore, because there is only one chance to cash in on opportunity costs. FCA bet the plant on all Jeep Cherokees.

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c cgseller Feb 28, 2021 #2

How many RAV4s did Toyota sell in the US last year? How about the Chevy Equinox?

The Jeep Cherokee needs a serious update under the hood to be competitive again. It also needs to stop being a fleet queen. The strange thing is the competitive makes don't really have all that great of a powertrain either. The Atkinson cycle four in the RAV4 bucks and surges, while the tiny turbo four in the Chevy can be tepid at times. I guess what Stellantis needs to do is seriously decide what kind of vehicle their D-segment Jeep needs to be. Right now all they are doing is digging themselves into a deeper hole.

Should a bad Jeep displace a good Chrysler or Dodge on the production line? There is no doubt the contemporary sedan concept is dead. A Chrysler branded vehicle styled after the AR Kamel concept with the 200 sedan drivetrain would have been a good replacement for the 200 sedan at Belevidere. Well that can't happen anymore, because there is only one chance to cash in on opportunity costs. FCA bet the plant on all Jeep Cherokees.

Was the Chrysler 200 also able to be produced in the Belevedere plant - but they decided to not jeopardize the profitable KL with those logistics?

patfromigh Mar 01, 2021 #3

I am just assuming the they could also build the the 200 where the Dart was because both cars were on the same platform and very close in size. The Dart, 200, and Jeep Cherokee are all on CUSW platform.

The decision to drop the sedans was the proper one to make, with the market collapsing. Not having a Chrysler or Dodge branded crossover vehicle to replace those sedans is probably a mistake. There was the ancient Journey, but it didn't fit in Belvidere. The only vehicle occupying Belvidere is the Cherokee and that model has a very wide price range. In a perfect world the lower end trims would be covered by another brand to preserve the value of the Jeep. I just think there wasn't any money for it.