Tentative contract agreement reached

The previous six-year master labor contract with the UAW expired at midnight.

John Deere announced early Thursday morning that they have reached a tentative agreement with members of the United Auto Workers.

12 Deere facilities were covered by the six-year agreement that expired at the end of September, according to John Deere spokesman Ken Golden. Terms of the agreement have not yet been released. The union is expected to schedule a ratification vote for Sunday.

The UAW represents about 10,000 manufacturing workers at a dozen plants, mostly in Iowa and Illinois. The new contract still needs to be approved by rank and file union members. The struggling farm economy has slowed demand for the company’s equipment, which includes products ranging from tractors and combines to construction skidloaders and bulldozers.

In its latest earnings report in August, the Moline equipment maker lowered its full-year 2015 earnings forecast to $1.8 billion from the $1.9 billion.