FILE - Members of the United Auto Workers strike outside of a John Deere plant, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Ankeny, Iowa. The farm equipment manufacturer reached a tentative labor agreement Saturday, Oct. 30, with the United Auto Workers union. But a UAW strike that began Oct. 14 will continue -- and details of the proposed contract will not be released -- while workers study the terms of the agreement in advance of a vote. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)More
The Associated Press
Sat, October 30, 2021,
Farm equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. reached a tentative labor agreement Saturday with the United Auto Workers union.
But a UAW strike that began Oct. 14 will continue -- and details of the proposed contract will not be released -- while workers study the terms of the agreement in advance of a vote.
The pact would cover more than 10,000 production and maintenance workers at 12 Deere sites in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas.
The strike began after UAW workers overwhelmingly rejected an initial proposed contract that would have delivered immediate 5% raises for some workers and 6% for others depending on their positions at Deere factories. The pact also called for 3% raises in 2023 and 2025.
After the first deal was rejected, UAW “negotiators focused on improving the areas of concern identified by our members,’’ said Chuck Browning, director of the union’s farm equipment department.
The U.S. economy’s unexpectedly strong rebound from last year’s brief but intense coronavirus recession has created labor shortages -- and handed workers more leverage to demand higher pay and better benefits.
The contract talks come as strong sales this year helped Moline, Illinois-based Deere report $4.7 billion net income for the first nine months of its fiscal year, which was more than double the $2 billion it reported a year ago.
The company is expecting to earn more than $5.7 billion this fiscal year.
Deere, UAW agree on new 6-year contract subject to union vote
Striking members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket at the Deere & Co farm equipment plant before a visit by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Ankeny, Iowa
Sat, October 30, 2021,
(Reuters) - U.S. tractor maker Deere & Co agreed on a new six-year contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union that would be subject to a vote by the company's striking workers, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The new deal on wages and employee benefits covers about 10,100 employees across 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas.
"The negotiators focused on improving the areas of concern identified by our members during our last ratification process," said Chuck Browning, UAW Vice President and Director of the Agricultural Implement Department.
UAW said it will not release details of the tentative agreement until members at Deere locations meet and review terms of their proposed contract.
"Out of respect for the process and our employees, we’re unable to speak to the details of the agreement," the company said.
About 90% of the union's members in early October rejected a previous tentative deal agreed between Deere and the UAW, and subsequently decided to go on strike.
The strike is the first against Deere by the UAW in more than three decades and comes in the middle of the U.S. corn and soybean harvest season, at a time when farmers are struggling to find parts for tractors and combines.
The last strike against Deere by the UAW was in 1986 when workers sat out for 163 days.
(This story corrects number of employees, facilities in paragraph two)
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka and Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft)
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