John Deere and UAW Agree

Details of the agreement have not be released.

The Des Moines Register reports that talks are underway between Deere and United Auto Workers to hammer out a new labor contract covering 10,000 workers, most of whom make farm and construction equipment in Iowa and Illinois.

Other terms of the new labor contract won’t be made public until after the deal is ratified.

“We’ve got a tentative agreement”.

“The tentative agreement is for six years and will now be presented to members for a ratification vote”. The master agreement also covers manufacturing employees in Ankeny, Dubuque, Ottumwa and Waterloo, Iowa; and Coffeyville, Kan. Similar meetings will be held at UAW locals throughout the Deere chain.

The UAW has been going to extreme lengths to maintain the secrecy of its negotiations with companies, similar to what it did with the negotiation with Fiat Chrysler, according to the World Socialist Web Site. Both sides announced then that they had agreed to remain silent during negotiations.

“In the a year ago, we have gone through a few tough times”. The current environment “probably plays to the hands of the company”, he said. Previous agreements were for three years. A few workers have been recalled.