Deere Workers Approve Contract, Ending Month-Long Strike

The roughly 10,000 members of the United Auto Workers union who have been on strike against Deere & Company DE, the parent company of farm and construction equipment maker John Deere, voted last night to ratify a new six-year contract.

What Happened: The Deere workers went on strike on Oct. 14, the first labor action against the company in 35 years. This resulted in shutting down operations at 11 Deere factories in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, plus three distribution centers in Colorado, Georgia and Illinois.

The Wall Street Journal reported the UAW workers approved the contract by a margin of 61% to 39%. This was the third contract offer submitted to the workers after two earlier proposed contracts were rejected.

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What Happens Next: Under the terms of the ratified contract, Deere workers will get an immediate 10% raise and an $8,500 bonus. There will also be additional 5% pay raises in 2023 and 2025 and lump-sum bonuses amounting to 3% of workers’ annual pay in 2022, 2024 and 2026.

The deal will also upgrade Deere’s continuous-improvement program by about 4%, with workers receiving additional weekly pay from the program if their productivity meets the company’s goals.

“Our members’ willingness to strike in order to attain a better standard of living and a more secure retirement resulted in a groundbreaking contract and sets a new standard for workers,” said Chuck Browning, director of the UAW’s agricultural implement department, in a written statement.

Deere CEO John May welcomed the ratification in a statement that said, “We’re giving employees the opportunity to earn wages and benefits that are the best in our industries. We have faith that, in return, our employees will find new and better ways to improve our competitiveness.”

Photo: David Jenne / Pixabay.