The plants stay open, but with two-tier wages.
Members of the United Auto Workers employed by Deere & Company of Moline, Illinois have ratified a new contract that includes a commitment by the company not to close plants during the six-year term of the agreement.
The union said the contract also includes a $3,500 ratification bonus and wage improvements during the term of the agreement. The company also agreed to improve the pensions of retirees.
Eighty-two percent of the union members voting on the contract approved the agreement covering approximately 9,500 employees at facilities in Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Illinois and Georgia.
UAW Region 4 Director Dennis Williams said the agreement included a new apprenticeship program that will give them new opportunities to enhance their skills and transition to better jobs.
Deere officials said in a statement that they were pleased the contract had been ratified. However, they declined to discuss the specifics of the agreement. However, David Everitt, Deere Company Worldwide Agriculture and Turf division president, said, “Both parties worked hard to develop an agreement that meets the needs of employees while recognizing the nature of Deere’s competitive challenges around the world.”
The new pact protects health-care benefits and calls for an increase in paid-time off, one of the UAW’s traditional contract demands, union members said. The contract also included a modest increase in pension benefits.
However, it extended the two-tier wage system that the company and the union negotiated in the late 1990s. The two-tier system, which has now moved to the auto industry, has helped hold down Deere’s labor costs with reduced wages for new employees, who also get fewer benefits. The contract also included changes in work rules.
The contract covers about 18% of the company’s workforce of 56,000 at plants in Illinois and Iowa, and parts depots in Atlanta and Denver. The John Deere Coffeyville (Kansas) Works is also covered by the agreement.