With one man providing clout and the other expected to deliver cash to close the deal, President Joe Biden and Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined members of the United Auto Workers on Thursday to celebrate the planned reopening of the Stellantis vehicle assembly plant in Belvidere.

Faced with declining poll numbers and a crisis in the Middle East, Biden leaned in to his chance to fire up a crowd rejoicing over the UAW’s historic gains from its targeted strike against the Detroit Three automakers. In its deal with Stellantis, the union secured a pledge to restart Belvidere, adding thousands of jobs.

Biden donned a red UAW T-shirt to address the crowd, at a community center in Belvidere. He spoke in front of a banner that read, “Auto workers back to work.”

“These deals are game changers, not only for UAW workers but for all workers in America,” Biden said, citing spinoff effects that include Toyota, a nonunion company, agreeing to wage hikes in the aftermath of the UAW agreements.

“It’s a bigger thing than I think even you all realize. You’ve changed the face of the country economically,” Biden said. His audience included Pritzker, UAW President Shawn Fain and Matt Frantzen, president of UAW Local 1268 from the Belvidere plant. Fain was an architect of the UAW’s trike strategy for escalating walkouts at selected factories, including in Chicago.

The union and Stellantis reached a deal Oct. 28 that, along with wage hikes of up to 25% over the next 4 1/2 years plus cost-of-living raises, committed the company to reopening the Belvidere factory.

GM and Ford also have settled with the union. Ratification votes are ongoing.

State funds for Belvidere plant

Pritzker has said his administration is finalizing an incentives package to support Stellantis’ estimated $5 billion investment in Belvidere. A spokesman from the governor’s office said Wednesday that details are still being worked out.

“You are tough, tough, tough as they come,” Biden told the UAW crowd, giving those who walked the picket lines credit for applying pressure.

But he acknowledged playing a role as well, saying that he phoned Mark Stewart, Stellantis’ chief operating officer for North America, and urged him to reopen Belvidere. The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet reported on Biden’s involvement in the matter Wednesday.

Biden’s call fulfilled a promise he made to Frantzen during a face-to-face meeting in Chicago. He said Frantzen “told me how critical it was to get that plant open and online again. So I told my team, ‘Make Stellantis know Belvidere is a priority’ and I got on the phone and I let them know personally it was a priority.”

State funds for the plant’s revival could come from a $400 million “deal closing fund” for large-scale private investments. Also, the state has established incentives for automakers transitioning to electric vehicles and battery production while retaining or creating jobs.

The total package could be larger than the $536 million Pritzker committed in September to Gotion, a Chinese company that agreed to build a battery factory in Manteno.

Thousands of jobs in the pipeline

The president emphasized his own history with union and working-class households in his home state of Delaware and his support of organized labor. In September, he became the first president to walk a picket line when he joined UAW strikers in Michigan. Biden said he didn’t realize the historical significance until after the occasion.

He said the strike’s outcome proves that companies that bargain in good faith can prosper while still providing higher wages and better benefits for an American workforce. “The iconic Big Three are still going to still lead the world in quality and innovation, because of you,” he said.

While his visit to Belvidere was in Biden’s role as president, politics was never far from the discussion. Biden highlighted low unemployment and support for domestic manufacturing during his term, contrasting his record with factory shutdowns during the term of former President Donald Trump.

Recent polls have shown Trump leading Biden in swing states.

“I hope you guys have a memory. Where I come from, it matters,” Biden told the audience.

Stellantis, which has deferred comment on its UAW settlement pending the ratification vote, did not comment on Biden’s appearance or its expectations for incentives at Belvidere.

The plant near Rockford will be retooled to produce a midsize truck in 2027, and adjacent property will get a battery plant for electric vehicles in 2028, a key priority for the Pritzker administration. The work is expected to create at least 2,500 jobs and cost nearly $5 billion.

When Stellantis closed Belvidere last February, the company laid off 1,350 workers. The factory dates from 1965 and last produced the Jeep Cherokee.

Evan Vucci/AP