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John Deere auto workers to go on strike after turning down another possible deal – World Latest News Headlines

November 3, 2021
Bharat Times English News

This time the vote was close, with 45% voting in favor and 55% against the proposed six-year deal. An earlier provisional agreement reached on 1 October was rejected by 90% of the membership in a ratification vote concluded on 10 October.

Many of those who voted against the two rejected deals clearly felt that despite offering pay increases and better benefits, the company could spend even more at a time of record profits. The strike against Deere at 14 facilities, mostly in the Midwest, began on October 14.

“The strike against John Deere and the company will continue as we discuss next steps with the company,” the UAW statement said.

A separate agreement with equal economic terms involving 100 UAW members at two John Deere parts facilities in Atlanta and Denver was approved by membership, so the strike would only continue at 12 other Deere locations, including all of its US factories. Are included.

“Through the agreements reached with the UAV, john deere (From) Mark Howes, Deere’s chief administrative officer, said in a statement, “Our employees and, by extension, our communities have increased pay and benefits that were already the best and most comprehensive in our industries, adding an additional $3.5 billion The investment has been made.” Hodge said the company will move forward with “the next phase of our customer service continuity plan.”

The newly declined deal includes an immediate 10% pay increase and a 30% salary increase over the term of the contract, an $8,500 bonus and health care coverage with no out-of-pocket fees for members for premiums, deductibles and coinsurance, The company said. – No pocket money. Better retirement benefits and newly paid parental leave.

But this majority was not enough for membership, especially since the union had accepted concessions after less lucrative deals in the past.

“These are skilled, exhausting jobs that UAW members take pride in every day,” UAW regional director Michelle Smith said on the day the strike began. “Strikeing workers or their families is never easy, but John Deere workers believe they deserve the better share of the pie, a safe workplace, and substantial benefits.”

The strike is being seen as an example More harsh stance by rank-and-file union members, partly encouraged by employers Difficulty finding workers To fill in the record number of job openings. Some labor experts and economists point to record rates of mostly non-federal workers. leaving job across the country As a sign of greater demand than ever for workers from their employers and their jobs.
There are also 1,400 employees on strike against the grain producer Kellogg’s (K) After years of negotiations, an agreement was reached between the union and the management. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows only a dozen strikes during September this year, which is less than the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. But the BLS only counts strikes with 1,000 or more. participants. Hundreds, if not thousands, of workers are involved in many strikes, sometimes less than 100.

Cornell University, however, tracks strikes of all sizes, and its figures show 181 strikes as of mid-October, with 38 strikes in the first two weeks of October, more than any other full month so far this year. The most recent strikes, including those that began on October 22, involved a total of 24,000 workers, leading the AFL-CIO to call the month a “strike”.

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