Thousands of John Deere employees walked off the job Thursday as part of a nationwide strike. Union officials say about 10,000 workers are demanding a higher pay raise.
Union members rejected a proposed a 5% pay raise in a vote on Monday. Deere officials say talks with United Auto Worker representatives are ongoing.
The deal reached by UAW was soundly rejected by 90% of union members.
Besides the 5% pay increase, the rejected contract would have given workers additional wage increases later in the contract that could have increased average pay by about 20% over the next six years.
The rejected contracted also would have eliminated a second lower tier pay, reintroduced cost of living adjustments, and would have included improvements in benefits, including an enhanced retirement bonus of up to $50,000.
The average production worker at Deere made about $60,000 last year.
The last time Deere employees went on strike was 35 years ago.
If your Deere machine is sitting idle because of this strike, it may be a good time to get some work done on it. If that's the case, give ConEquip Parts a call!
