Stellantis filed suit against the UAW, claiming the union did not have the right to authorize a mid-contract strike.

(CBS Detroit) — Stellantis has filed a lawsuit against the United Auto Workers union, which continues to fight its 2023 collective bargaining agreement and the UAW's strike threat.

The suit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court Central District of California, claims that the UAW “filed false allegations designed to justify a mid-contract strike against Stellantis that would otherwise violate . [the collective bargaining agreement’s] There is no strike clause.”

Stellantis claims the union ignored the language in Letter 311, which allows the automaker to plan future investments with company approval and subject to change based on consumer demand, changing market conditions and plant performance.

The automaker, which is the parent company of 14 brands including Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, is seeking a court declaration that the union “acted in bad faith” and violated the bargaining agreement.

“Ignoring this negotiation and mutually agreed-upon language of Letter 311, the UAW and its agents, including President Sean Fein, began a sustained, multi-month campaign against the company to force planned investments without company approval. Business reasons,” the suit alleges. Read on.

It comes as the UAW announced that a supermajority of 230 local members at Stellantis' Los Angeles parts distribution center voted to request strike authorization from the international executive board if they can't settle grievances.

Stellantis union members voted for the first time since multiple UAW locals filed grievances against the automaker, according to a news release.

“Stellantis made a contractual commitment to invest in America and we will not let them back out of it,” UAW President Sean Fain said in the news release. “Our members won those investments during the stand-up strike and we will strike again if we have to to keep our commitment to Stellantis.”

According to an internal email obtained by CBS News Detroit, Stellantis informed employees that the company would sue the UAW, saying both sides understood the risks of adjusting investments due to current demand.

“The facts are indisputable: the electrification transition is happening slower than expected,” read the email. “We knew that slow consumer EV adoption could delay our product launches and investment decisions. In fact, many of our competitors know this as well and have announced investment and product delays as well as outright product cancellations.”

The email also said the lawsuit would “hold both international and local unions responsible for lost revenue and other damages resulting from lost production due to illegal strikes.”

But Fein has repeatedly said the union earned the right to strike Under the 2023 agreement on alleged broken promises. Fein also said other UAW locals plan to vote to authorize strikes in response to claims the company is trying to Discontinue production of the Dodge Durango outside the country and Reopening is delayed of Belvidere Assembly Plant Illinois

Thursday, Hundreds of UAW members rallied in Sterling HeightsStellantis called on Durgano to maintain production in Detroit and restart the Belvidere plant.

Stellantis cited market conditions as contributing to Belvidere's delays and proposed a consolidated Mopar Mega Hub, stamping operations in 2025 and allocation of a new midsize truck in 2027, according to the lawsuit. The company also said the letter included a planned future investment in the next-generation Durango in 2026 at the 311 Detroit Assembly Complex.

The automaker said in the lawsuit that those plans are subject to committee approval due to “unpredictability” and a “highly volatile” car market.