Stellantis NV is deploying firearm-sniffing dogs at several auto plants, a move that's raised concerns at one major factory over potentially creating a "prison-like" atmosphere that could impact worker morale.

The K-9 units have already been working without issue for months at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan, where the Ram 1500 pickup is made, a local union leader confirmed. They are next headed to the Detroit Assembly Complex's Mack plant, where the Jeep Grand Cherokee is built, according to a company statement from spokesperson Frank Matyok.

The dogs and their handlers are there to "support workplace safety and employee well-being," the Stellantis statement said, and were picked for their ability to work comfortably in a manufacturing environment.

Other major Stellantis plants are expecting to soon have K-9 units patrolling entrances, factory floors and parking lots — a move that several workers and United Auto Workers officials described as unusual. Matyok said the dogs will "service Stellantis manufacturing facilities across Metro Detroit and Toledo over time."

Workers at the Toledo Assembly Complex were told Thursday by local United Auto Workers union leaders about the "mobile security patrols" that are expected at the plant as part of a "corporate-wide security initiative."

And at Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan, where the Jeep Grand Wagoneer is made, UAW Local 140 President Eric Graham said he also was informed of K-9 sweeps to occur sometime next month.

Stellantis began using the K-9 units last fall from Michigan firm Zebra K9 as part of a pilot program at the massive Sterling Heights plant, according to a Sept. 30 letter to workers from the plant manager, which said a "licensed security specialist with K9 support" would be deployed each shift to "keep our plant safe and secure." The letter said the dogs were certified to detect firearms and explosives, and said that their presence would "offer reassurance and peace of mind."

The manager, Chuck Padden, told employees the move was not a reaction to any specific concerns or threats.

Last summer, however, the facility had been evacuated after a Stellantis employee brought a handgun into the plant, barricaded himself and had a three-hour standoff with police. No one was injured.

Two dogs, a Labrador Retriever and a smaller breed, have regularly patrolled both the factory floor and parking lots since last October, said Michael Spencer, president of UAW Local 1700, which represents workers at the plant. In the coming months, he expects the carmaker to expand the program and bring additional dogs to the plant.

So far, Spencer said he's not aware of the dogs finding any firearms. They did once find ammunition in a worker's vehicle, he said, though it turned out the person had accidentally left it there after visiting a gun range.

Spencer said he initially anticipated backlash to the new K-9 security from his members. But so far, workers haven't minded them as the dogs are friendly and can be petted. "It hasn't been the uproar I thought it was going to be initially," he said.

The additional patrols — especially in parking lots around the plant — should help cut down on frequent thefts of worker vehicles that have occurred in recent years, he said.

But at the Toledo Assembly Complex, where the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator are made, a UAW Local 12 letter to membership from the plant's executive committee raised several concerns with the plan to deploy K-9 units. They were expected to do "random patrols at entrances, exits, and throughout the plant interior," the letter said, in order to "detect firearms and weapon-related paraphernalia."

The letter — which noted the dogs would not be permanently stationed at the facility — said that the union had concerns about creating a "prison-like" atmosphere at the plant that would negatively impact UAW member morale. It also raised issues about potential animal allergies and phobias, and the "risk of these patrols being used for surveillance unrelated to weapon detection."

The union letter detailed the company's prohibited items policy — which includes guns, knives, other weapons, drugs and alcohol — and warned UAW members that "refusal to cooperate with a search" could be treated as a policy violation resulting in discipline or firing.

Graham said police in the past have searched the Warren Truck parking lots using K-9s, but not for years. Spencer said such K-9 searches at the Sterling Heights plant were also previously highly rare. At Toledo's Jeep plant, employees said the company has occasionally conducted bag checks of workers in the past, but hasn't used gun-sniffing dogs.

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