About 10,000 workers at the agriculture equipment maker Deere & Company will go back to work after the approval of a contract on Wednesday, bringing to an end a five-week strike that affected 14 facilities primarily in Iowa and Illinois.
After workers rejected two previous agreements between the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and the company, the six-year contract was ratified 61 percent to 39%. The new contract raises wages and includes language that makes the company’s performance pay more generous.
“Our members’ courageous 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 not only within the U.A.W. but throughout the country,” Chuck Browning, the director of the union’s agricultural equipment department, said in a statement.
John C. May, Deere’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement: “I’m pleased our highly skilled employees are back to work building and supporting the industry-leading products which make our customers more profitable and sustainable.”
According to a union spokesperson, workers can earn 20% more than their base pay if they meet productivity targets.
The contract’s other provisions are the same as the one workers rejected in November. Wage increases of 10 % this year, 5 % each in 2023 & 2025, and lump sum payments equal to 3 % of wages for the remaining years of contract are all included.
That proposal also gave future employees a traditional pension — something that current workers have but that the union’s initial agreement with the company omitted for new hires — and established a post-retirement health care fund.
Nearly 55 percent of workers voted against the second agreement between Deere & the U.A.W. Some complained that the wage increases at a company that was expected to earn nearly $6 million this fiscal year were too small. Others cited the company’s performance pay, whose targets they said were too difficult for many employees to reach.
Matt Pickrell, a worker at a John Deere facility in Ottumwa in Iowa, stated that some workers were stuck in jobs where it was virtually impossible to earn performance-pay. For example, employees on an assembly line that was slowed down by supply-chain disruptions.
Pickrell claimed that he was able to secure a new assignment because of his seniority, but that it was not possible to hit a new performance goal.
“It’s creating another tier,” Mr. Pickrell said, alluding to a compensation system in which workers with less seniority receive lower pay or benefits.
Mr. Pickrell said members of the union negotiating team told workers in Ottumwa on Wednesday morning that the company had pledged to adjust the performance plan to better account for circumstances beyond a worker’s control.
Deere claimed that its offer was as generous and reasonable as it could afford. It also stated that it would not be returning to the bargaining table if workers reject the second agreement. After further discussions, Deere said that it had offered workers a generous offer and that it would not be returning to the bargaining table. However, Friday saw the parties reach a third agreement. It included modifications to the incentive plan.
The strike was part a larger trend of work stoppages during October. However, some employers have managed to avoid large strikes by reaching last-minute agreements and working with unions. This includes Kaiser Permanente, the health care provider, as well as a number of Hollywood studios.
The workers’ willingness to vote down two proposals with significant wage gains reflected the strength of their bargaining position as the nation faces labor shortages as well as their particular leverage over Deere.
Deere had maintained that it was continuing operations at its plants with the assistance of salaried employees throughout the strike, but Larry Cohen (an ex-president of the Communications Workers of America) said in an interview this year that he was deeply skeptical of the company’s ability to avoid a significant impact on production.
He explained that this was due to the advantage workers have when they bargain on a companywide basis. This is a similar approach that is common in Europe, South America, and relatively rare in the United States.
“There was an opportunity — we can push this as far as we can because the risks are low, they’re not producing anything,” said Mr. Cohen, channeling the mind-set of the workers.
However, some workers expressed concern about the possibility of public opinion turning against them if they were to walk away from a contract that had substantial improvements.
“If we did turn this down, what would it look like to the public?” said Chris Laursen, another Deere worker in Ottumwa who opposed the initial agreement, just before the second vote.
“If we take what we got now, it’s a decent win for the American labor movement,” Mr. Laursen added. “Hopefully it will help empower workers.”
Source: NY Times
