Ohio Jeep Worker Blames Increasing Injuries on Stellantis ‘Emergency Status’
Get ready for a spicy article thanks to an anonymous Jeep worker and a leaked internal memo. Stellantis has declared an ‘Emergency Status’ that is pushing plant employees to the brink. Injuries are increasing due to being overworked.
Stellantis ‘Emergency Status’ is linked to increasing Jeep plant injuries
An employee from the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex is sharing an internal memo out of caution for the safety of himself and fellow coworkers.
Reportedly, the Toledo plant is responsible for 30% of all reported injuries across 75 plants in North America. The employee claims that this is because they’re being overworked.
The recent aluminum plant fire at the Novelis complex in New York is causing delays and shortages across the auto industry. It’s hurting Jeep and Ford the most.
The plant is partially back online, so Stellantis has declared an ‘emergency status’ to catch up on production. Workers are now being pushed too hard, with six or seven 10-hour days a week. This is causing exhaustion and leading to mistakes.
According to WTOL 11, a clause in the employee contract allows Stellantis to require workers to work extended hours each week. They’re working a 10th hour of overtime and are forced to come in on the weekends. The employee has worked for 3.5 weeks straight.
What does the memo say?
The memo shares that the Toledo complex is responsible for a significant portion of Stallanti’s injuries during the past 10 weeks. Roughly 25 of 87 accidents have been reported. It encourages people to be more careful.
However, the concerned employee shares that Stellantis doesn’t see the correlation between extended hours and increasing injuries.
When people are tired, overworked, and burnt out it’s easy to make mistakes like forgetting personal protective equipment (PPE).
The worker shared that the emergency status isn’t approved in the current contracts, and it’s being abused. Instead of trying to catch up on backlogs, they’re being pushed to meet increased output goals.
However, a Stellantis spokesperson shared, “Stellantis takes the health and safety of its employees seriously. We are continually implementing actions to raise safety awareness and encourage a culture of accident prevention by reminding employees of their shared responsibility in following protocols that keep them safe.”
