UAW, Case New Holland return to negotiation table ahead of visit from Bernie Sanders

Strikers outside of the north parking lot entrance at Case New Holland Industrial's Burlington plant began their rainy Friday morning with a trade: a poncho for donuts.

It was a simple handoff across the picket line — an employee of a security team apparently hired by CNHI for the duration of the strike had come to work with donuts to spare, and United Auto Workers Local 807 members had an ample supply of ponchos on hand.

As the about 430 workers enter their seventh week on strike for better pay, benefits and continued job security, they hope a similar show of good faith will be seen when UAW leaders return to Madison, Wisconsin, to resume negotiations Tuesday.

The return to the bargaining table comes amid a show of support for workers by a group of U.S. senators led by Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who will visit UAW members in Burlington and Racine, Wisconsin, on Friday.

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

"The senator reached out to me personally, and I informed him (of what was going on), and he said he wanted to come on board and help," UAW Local 807 President Nick Guernsey said.

Sanders, an Independent, along with Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), sent a letter to CNHI CEO Scott Wine urging the company to negotiate a fair contract with its nearly 1,200 workers in Burlington and Racine and denouncing the company's most recent proposal.

More: United Auto Workers reject Case New Holland Industrial proposal; strike enters 4th week

That offer was for a three-year contract that would have provided workers with raises of between 12% and 18% over three years, depending on their position, with some getting a raise of 8.5% in the first year. But it also would drastically increase out-of-pocket health care costs.

"Beyond unaffordable health benefits, you have refused to offer workers fair pay for their hard work," the senators wrote. "Your proposal offers your lowest-paid workers an average annual raise of just $1.33 per hour, which is woefully inadequate and a substantial pay cut for many after adjusting for inflation and the massive new health benefit costs."

Guernsey previously told The Hawk Eye that union leaders declined to put the offer to membership vote as it did not meet members' demands, which were compiled based upon survey responses and were presented to Case on Wednesday, nor did it account for cost-of-living increases.

It also did not include language protecting workers from plant shutdowns and was for a shorter term than the six-year contract that expired April 30.

More: Case New Holland to cease production of dozers, headers in Burlington

The strike comes after a profitable year for CNHI, which ended 2021 with $33.4 billion in revenue, up 28.4% from 2020. It reported a $1.76 billion profit, up 21% from 2019.

"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," the senators' letter said. "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."

Case did not respond to a request for comment about the letter, but a spokesperson previously told The Hawk Eye the company was disappointed the union didn't put its latest offer to membership vote. A full-page ad published in the May 31 edition of The Hawk Eye featured a letter to workers on strike encouraging them to ask their local union representative for a copy of the proposal.

Earlier this week, the company sent workers, who had been informed of what the offer consisted of previously by Guernsey during an informational meeting, copies of the proposal in the mail.

"Truthfully, I think I need to go in there and thank them for sending the letter to my membership, because they did me a great favor," Guernsey said. "My members now are just as riled up as they were Day 1."

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

At the picket line, several union members indicated they were less than impressed by the offer.

"It was ridiculous," 10-year CNHI employee Jeremy Parrish said Friday from the picket line before his 14-year-old son, Brayden, joined him and picked up a sign. "A lot of people have families and kids, and benefits are a very important part of what we're looking for here."

While the proposal wasn't what workers had been hoping for, some thought it was a step in the right direction.

"It looks a lot better, so I'm a lot more comfortable," said Paul Swartzlander, who works on the dozer line and has been with Case for nearly 10 years.

Strikers to begin getting $125 weekly pay increase

The return to the negotiating table also comes during the first week of $400 strike pay from the UAW.

The increase from the $275 weekly payments was announced Tuesday after a meeting of the UAW International Executive Board.

The UAW also eliminated a provision that a member may not receive UAW strike benefits if they received unemployment benefits.

“UAW members who strike are fighting to hold their employers accountable,” UAW President Ray Curry said in a news release. “Our striking members and their families deserve our solidarity, and this increased benefit will help them hold the line.”

The additional pay comes as a relief to the striking workers.

"I can pay my child support now," six-month CNHI employee Jacob Stanford said, explaining he pays $200 per week in child support. "It's hard to do out of a $275 check. Seventy-five of that goes in my gas tank so I can come get (my kids)."

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

Scenes from the UAW picket line

Tensions were relatively low on the picket line Friday. Security guards stationed in the parking lot could be seen laughing and smiling at remarks from strikers. One security worker was still wearing a poncho displaying the UAW logo.

Around lunchtime, the union members and a plant supervisor who pulled up in a golf cart ahead of his food delivery exchanged a good-natured ribbing.

"You guys do your thing," the supervisor said before taking note of Swartzlander's almost 5-year-old Great Dane, Tank. "That's a big-a-- dog you got there, Paul."

"He's gonna poop on the other side of that white line here in a little bit," Scott Dillard, whose son is a salaried employee at the plant, replied, eliciting laughter from the supervisor and fellow strikers.

The playful prodding occurred as Burlington police officer Brian Carper interviewed witnesses to an incident involving a truck driver whom strikers said brandished a tie-down bar and nearly hit them less than an hour before.

Video footage taken by Jacob Stanford, a six-month CNHI employee, and shared with The Hawk Eye shows Parrish chasing after the truck, which strikers said nearly ran them over when exiting the parking lot at a high rate of speed, before the truck stops at a stop light and the driver gets out. As Parrish backs away, the truck also begins to back up.

Parrish said his picket sign was broken during the incident, which Carper said the police department will continue to investigate.

A short time later, Parrish alerted picketers to clear the roadway as another truck he said is known for not properly securing items in its trailer approached.

Parrish said things have been relatively calm along the picket lines in recent weeks after a stint of encounters between picketers and vehicles early on in the strike.

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

"We try to keep it as peaceful as possible," Stanford said. "We all have kids to go home to."

The majority of union members who spoke to The Hawk Eye appeared less than optimistic that an agreement will be reached, even with the support of U.S. senators.

"We thought we were making some ground the last time when we went into negotiations, and then all of a sudden, everything came to a halt and they didn't want to give in to anything," Parrish said. "It's just really hard to try to figure out what they're thinking and where they're at."

Guernsey also said he's not holding out hope.

"We're not driving amidst $5-a-gallon gas just to drive to Madison, Wisconsin, to see the sights. I'm over seeing the sights of Madison, Wisconsin," he said. "I'm ready for this to be put to bed."

Miguel Lopez, who has been with the company for two months, shook his head when asked if he thinks a resolution will be reached soon. But he said he is hopeful.

"The best employees are outside," Lopez said. "They need them."

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: UAW, Case New Holland to resume bargaining before Bernie Sanders visit