A five-week strike where about 10,000 Deere & Company workers pushed for improved wages and worker benefits ended when the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Detroit, Michigan, and Deere & Company, Moline, Illinois, ratified a new agreement Nov. 17. The strike, which consisted of production and warehouse workers, impacted 14 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas.
This new, six-year contract was decided upon by both parties after UAW declined two previous agreements. Sixty-one percent of UAW John Deere members voted to ratify the agreement.
The contract boasts a $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, according to a UAW news release. Healthcare will remain the same for the duration of the agreement.
“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 UAW but throughout the country,” says Chuck Browning, vice president of the UAW and director of the UAW Agricultural Implement department.
The about 10,000 union employees returned to work in mid-November.
Deere & Company also announced Nov. 23 that its salaried staff, including supervisors, engineers and financial service employees, will receive 8% raises, according to the Des Moines Register.
“John Deere is wrapping up an extraordinary year despite facing some of the most challenging operating conditions in recent history,” says Deere & Co. spokesperson Jennifer Hartmann. “Through it all, our employees’ hard work, persistence, and commitment to each other, and to those we serve, were key to this exceptional performance.”
Despite the strike, Deere & Company experienced a record profit for the 2021 fiscal year, according to a Deere & Company news release. The company announced it reached an annual net income of about $6 billion, doubling the $2.8 billion it earned last year. Deere & Company’s former record for annual net income was $3.5 billion back in 2013.
The company also anticipates a continuation of breaking its annual net income record. For its full-year 2022 earnings, Deere & Company’s forecast is $6.5 to $7 billion.
“Our results reflect strong end-market demand and our ability to continue serving customers while managing supply-chain issues and conducting contract negotiations with our largest union,” says John C. May, chairman and CEO of Deere & Company. “Last week’s ratification of a six-year agreement with the UAW brings our highly skilled employees back to work building the finest products in our industries. The agreement shows our ongoing commitment to delivering best-in-class wages and benefits.”
