The UAW president, Shawn Fain, has long been in stark contrast with the strategy and corporate line pursued by Stellantis. After the tragic death of a worker at the Toledo plant in Ohio, Fain did not hesitate to point the finger at the Stellantis group for what happened.
Shawn Fain, UAW president, against Stellantis following the death of a worker at the Toledo plant
Many articles only mention the death of a worker, generically indicated as an employee of the industrial group, but this man had a name, a surname, a life, people who loved him. Let’s not hesitate then to talk about a person, beyond a worker, with rights and dignity. Antonio Gaston, 53, was tightening bolts on a chassis body when he became trapped under a moving vehicle on the Jeep Gladiator assembly line.
Investigations into the incident are trying to establish how he became trapped under the vehicle. Gaston, after the closure of the Stellantis plant in Belvidere, Illinois, was forced to relocate to Toledo.
Fain has promised that automotive workers are ready to fight, and if necessary, strike, if Stellantis does not keep the commitment made in the new union contract to reopen and expand the Belvidere plant. Fain had emphasized how the strike has already led to an important victory in the new agreement: the right to strike in case of failure to respect investment commitments.
For Antonio Gaston, any action comes too late. His death on Wednesday afternoon at the Toledo Jeep plant adds anger to an already very tense situation. Gaston should never have been in that situation. After the closure of the Belvidere plant, he and his family were forced to leave their life in Illinois to move to Toledo.
The victim of the tragic accident was the father of four children, and had worked for several years at the Stellantis plant in Belvidere before the transfer. On Wednesday, he was performing his normal duties, delivering materials to the assembly line. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe initiative has appeared to support Gaston’s family, with a fundraiser already reaching over $16,000 in just one day.
Gaston worked for Stellantis for over twelve years. Tru Parham, a Jeep union representative, remembered Gaston on the fundraiser page, writing: “The memories we all have of ‘Tone’ are brightened by his constant smile and joyful nature.” Fain attributed Antonio Gaston‘s death to the corporate ruthlessness of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Verbatim, “Corporate greed is the problem,” Fain stated.