Deere Reaches Third Interim Agreement with Union in Strike End Initiative

United Auto Workers said On Saturday, farm equipment maker Deere & Company reported making changes to an earlier deal. rejected With its membership, it has set up another vote on whether to end the strike that has been going on for nearly a month.

Strike to start On October 14, a few days after roughly 10,000 workers overwhelmingly in Iowa and Illinois rejected an agreement negotiated between the company and the union.

The initial deal was to raise wages by 5 or 6 percent this year, depending on a worker’s salary grade, and another 3 percent in both 2023 and 2025. He would refuse the traditional retirement benefits of future hires.

A second deal reached end of october In the third and fifth years of the six-year contract, he would increase wages by 10 percent and 5 percent this year, while providing a lump sum of 3 percent of annual wages in each of the even years.

information technology would also give It created a traditional retirement and post-retirement health care fund for future employees, which many current members say is a priority.

But still members rejected this offer On November 2, albeit by a much narrower margin of 55 to 45 percent. Some workers argued that the initial wage increase was still too low. envisaged It made about $6 billion in profits this fiscal year. Others expressed concerns about the company’s performance incentive plan and felt that the company’s commitments to improving it were too vague. .

After the second no vote, said He said he made the best and last offer and did not plan to renegotiate. But the two sides have held talks since then.

“We are still in talks with the UAW and continue to accept any proposals the UAW can make,” a Deere spokesperson said by email on Tuesday, adding that “we’ve reached our maximum limit in terms of new costs overall.”

The spokesperson did not immediately respond to Saturday’s request for comment, and the UAW statement did not elaborate on the latest proposal or when the deal will be voted on. He described the offer as Deere’s “last, best and final offer”.

Labor experts said the two sides can sometimes make adjustments at this point in a negotiation on issues that aren’t strictly economic, such as a company’s disciplinary policies.

The strike comes as many employers across the country are dealing with labor shortages and workers are taking a more assertive stance towards employers. increase in work stoppages.