Bernie Sanders to visit Burlington in show of support for UAW workers on strike

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders will visit Burlington June 17 in a show of support for unionized employees of Case New Holland Industrial as they end their seventh week on strike.

The Independent senator from Vermont will hold a town hall event at 2:30 p.m. at the Crapo Park Bandshell.

Nick Guernsey, president of United Auto Workers Local 807, which represents the about 430 workers who walked out of CNHi in Burlington on May 2 after the union and CNHi failed to come to an agreement on a new contract and have been on strike ever since, was contacted by Sanders in late May about his upcoming visit.

The town hall will come about a week-and-a-half after Sanders, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) sent a letter to CNHi CEO Scott Wine expressing their support for workers in Burlington and Racine, Wisconsin, and urging the company to negotiate a fair contract.

More: UAW Local 807 strike of Case New Holland continues; negotiations remain on hold

More: Burlington members of United Auto Workers Local 807 continue strike as replacement workers fill in

“Let’s be clear. CNH is not a poor company,” the senators wrote. “It is not going broke. Last year, CNH made over $1.7 billion in profits. If CNH can afford to provide you with a $9.2 million signing bonus and nearly $22 million in total compensation for one year of work – nearly 8,000 times the raise you are offering some workers – it can afford to pay all of your workers better wages and better benefits. If CNH can afford to spend over $100 million on stock buybacks over a six-month period to enrich its wealthy shareholders, it can afford to treat all of its workers with the dignity and the respect that they deserve.”

The company has not responded to a request from The Hawk Eye for comment.

Guernsey, who was contacted by Sanders' team about an upcoming visit in late May, said he is grateful for the support.

"Obviously, they wield a little bit bigger sword than we do, so any help right now to get through corporate greed is good," Guernsey said. "We wished it really didn't come to this."

Guernsey said the town hall is expected to last about an hour.

More: 'I did not want to cross a picket line': Engineer quits at Case New Holland in solidarity with union

Sanders will appear at a similar event in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, earlier in the day at 11 a.m.

Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Sen. Sanders to come to Burlington to support United Auto Workers