With negotiations over a new contract reaching an impasse, more than 10,000 workers at 14 John Deere construction and agricultural equipment manufacturing facilities went on strike at midnight on Oct. 14. Represented by the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), they are responsible for assembling and shipping equipment and parts at Deere’s U.S. plants.
“Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules,” said Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW’s Agricultural Implement Dept., in a press statement Oct. 14. “We stay committed to bargaining until our members’ goals are achieved.”
The new contract under dispute covers seven Deere plants in Iowa, four in Illinois and one each in Kansas, Colorado and Georgia. This is the first major strike among Deere workers since a 1986 walkout that lasted for 163 days.
Workers voted to reject the latest offer from the Moline, Ill.-based company, which included 5% and 6% raises for different employee groups. The proposed contract also would have ended the pension program for workers hired after Nov. 1, instead shifting them to a 401(k) retirement savings plan. A version of the合同上周在投票罢工之前看到的工作人员也将排除在1997年之后雇用的退休工作人员的全部养老金和健康福利，谈判期间是一个伸出点。
UAW挑选仪在10月14日上午靠近莫林，滑铁卢，爱荷华州和其他地区的莫雷·洛杉矶和其他地点的入口处。
“纠察队已经成立，我们的成员被组织并准备持有并争取他们认为符合他们的需求的合同，”Uaw Region 4总监Ron Mcinroy在一篇新闻报表中表示。“我们的成员及其家人欣赏他们已经得到的社区支持。罢工并不容易，但有些事情值得为之奋斗。“
Deere在新闻发表中说，运营仍将继续正常。
“John Deere致力于为我们的员工，我们的社区和所有参与者致力于一个有利的结果，”Deere＆Co.“劳工关系副总裁Brad Morris表示，”我们决心与将其所放置的UAW达成协议员工在更好的经济地位，并继续使他们成为农业和建筑行业的最高雇员。我们将一天晚上努力了解我们的员工的优先事项并解决这一罢工，同时还保持我们的运营，以便为我们所服务的所有人提供福利。“
The company said it is using employees from other parts of its business not involved in the strike to keep facilities running, under what it calls its Customer Service Continuation plan.
Deere reported strong sales in the third quarter of 2021, with net sales and revenue of $11.5 billion, up 29% year-over-year. Net income was also up 106% year-over-year, with diluted earnings-per-share up 107%. In its construction and forestry division, Deere saw a 38% increase in net sales over the same quarter in 2020, to over $3 billion.
