UAW, John Deere Come to Terms on New Six-Year Contract

“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,” said John May, Deere’s chairman and CEO. “John Deere’s success depends on the success of our people. Through our new collective bargaining agreements, we’re giving employees the opportunity to earn wages and benefits that are the best in our industries and are groundbreaking in many ways. We have faith that, in return, our employees will find new and better ways to improve our competitiveness and transform the way our customers do their work. Together, our future is bright.”

The previous six-year contract between the UAW and Deere expired on Oct. 1, but had been extended pending ongoing negotiations. The union had been on strike since Wednesday, Oct. 13.

The new agreement includes an $8,500 signing bonus; 20% increase in wages over the lifetime of the contract with 10% this year; return of cost-of-living adjustments; three 3% lump sum payments; enhanced options for retirement; and enhanced CIPP performance benefits. Healthcare remains the same for the life of the agreement, the union said.

“UAW John Deere members did not just unite themselves, they seemed to unite the nation in a struggle for fairness in the workplace,” said Ray Curry, UAW president. “We could not be more proud of these UAW members and their families.”

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com