John Deere, United Auto Workers report reaching third tentative contract agreement amid strike
Deere & Co. and the United Auto Workers have agreed to a third potential contract, the union announced Friday night.
After UAW members in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas voted down two previous agreements over the last month, representatives for the company and the union met again Thursday and Friday. According to a UAW news release, the two sides reached an agreement that includes "modest modifications" over the most recent rejected contract offer.
Union members will vote on the contract Wednesday. UAW spokesperson Brian Rothenberg said Friday night that he was not sure when members will be given details about the contract.
"The UAW will present the Company's offer for ratification and, as has been the case throughout the bargaining process, will support the outcome," he said in a statement.
Rothenberg said the latest agreement is Deere's "last, best and final offer." Deere spokesperson Jennifer Hartmann declined to comment Friday night, but she previously told the Des Moines Register that the company would not increase its offer above the one members rejected Nov. 2.
More: Deere executive says increased overseas production possible as UAW strike continues
About 10,100 UAW members have been on strike since Oct. 14. They include some 7,000 Iowa workers in Ankeny, Davenport, Dubuque, Ottumwa and Waterloo.
About 90% of members rejected the first contract proposed by the union and the company on Oct. 10, saying its offer of 5% to 6% raises were inadequate in a period when Deere was posting record profits.
More: Everybody wants a John Deere tractor. But not everybody wants a John Deere job. Why?
The second contract offer would have raised wages by 10%, boosted retirement benefits and preserved the pension program that the company previously proposed to eliminate for new workers. Fifty-five percent of UAW members rejected that contract, continuing the strike.
More: After 3½ weeks and two contract rejections, which side in John Deere strike can hold out longer?
The union did not specify what Deere meant when it said the third contract is the company's "last, best and final offer." Managers often uses that language when declaring that they are at an impasse with unions.
If the company declares an impasse, labor lawyers say, Deere can offer the contract to any workers willing to cross the picket line. But the union could challenge Deere's declaration before the National Labor Relations Board, kicking off a potentially long, contentious court battle that could force the two sides back to the bargaining table.
Meanwhile, a Scott County District Court judge will hold a hearing Nov. 19 about whether to overturn her prior injunction against the UAW at John Deere Davenport Works. At the request of Deere, which cited what it said were safety hazards, Judge Marlita Greve in an Oct. 20 order restricted picketing to four members per gate and banned fire barrels.
Attorneys for the union have argued that the injunction is inappropriate because union members already follow safety rules. They have criticized Greve and asked her to step aside from the case because she issued the injunction without alerting the union about the complaint or giving the UAW's lawyers a chance to argue against an injunction.
A Polk County judge rejected a similar injunction request for Deere's Des Moines Works in Ankeny, saying the company provided no proof the picketers there had engaged in illegal activity.
Tyler Jett covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at tjett@registermedia.com, 515-284-8215, or on Twitter at @LetsJett.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: For third time, John Deere, UAW reach tentative contract agreement
