Deere workers have reached an agreement and are back to work. More than 10,000 workers walked off the job in October in strike, an event that had not happened since 1986. That decade was also fraught with economic worries as well, leading to multiple similar accounts during the era.
The Washington Post has stated that this strike represents a new era of so called “labor militancy”, though the meaning of that is not entirely clear. However, the UAW is supremely proud of the result, stating, ““UAW John Deere members did not just unite themselves, they seemed to unite the nation in a struggle for fairness in the workplace. We could not be more proud of these UAW members and their families.”
However, nearly 2 years of pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, as well as fledgling Biden policies have done little to provide any sense of economic security throughout the rest of the nation.
And it appears that the John Deere UAW may just be the beginning of a larger labor wave with similar strikes happening across a variety of industries – most notable right now fast food and food processing sectors, as well other types of skilled manufacturing, and even health care industries. Coming in the beginning of next year as well, dock labor unions are set to renegotiate contracts as well – in the midst of an already pained shipping system.
UAW John Deere workers rejected the first offer of an immediate 5 to 6 percent raise, an additional 3 percent raise in 2023 and 2025, though eliminated pensions for new hires.
Having not found a consensus, a second offer was proposed of an immediate 10 percent raise, $,8,500 per worker ratification bonus, and 5 percent raises in 2023 and 2025. However, that vote was much closer in the UAW with a 55 to 45 percent split against.
The settled agreement appears to be in line with the second offer, but tweaks a tier of calculated bonuses among workers depending on a variety of other factors.
The true impact of both the strike and the new labor agreement probably will not be known for several more months as production continues, and there are still other economic factors concerning the sector overall, especially in terms of international material needs.
However, the top executives at Deere seem to be happy to move forward, with John C. May, chairman and CEO, stating, “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,” adding, “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.”
