Compass Money: John Deere Union Workers End Month-Long Strike

Former Iowa Governor and Current U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently met with the United Auto Workers (UAW) protestors. (Flickr)

United Auto Workers Union members agreed by a 61 percent majority to accept the third deal offered by John Deere to end their strike on the night of November 17. This comes after around 10,000 John Deere workers went on a month-long strike following their refusal of the six-year contract negotiated by union leadership and John Deere by a 90 percent margin on October 10th. 

The proposed contract would have given modest 5-6 percent wage raises for the hourly wage workers throughout the six years, but it would have also removed pensions for new workers. This age separation is similar to a provision the company enacted for workers hired after 1997, which lowered the benefits and wages for all workers hired after that year, benefits that post-97 workers have not gotten back yet. Additionally, the proposed contract would not change the current incentive-based payment plan, known as the Continuous Improvement Pay Plan (CIPP). Under this system, John Deere expects workers to improve productivity by 2 percent every six months, with wage incentives for doing better, but wages would decrease if the continued increase relative to the previous month is not met. 

In contrast to the unpopular new provisions offered to its workers, the company John Deere is experiencing one of its best years ever. The CEO received a 160 percent raise in January to receive nearly $15 million in annual compensation, and the company was projected to earn $5.7-$5.9 billion entering their fourth quarter, exceeding their previous high of $3.5 billion in 2013. 

One painter at an Iowa plant stated, “We want a fair shake, we want equity—and we don’t feel like we’re getting that.” Three days after voting against the contract, the union members voted 99 percent in favor of a strike. 

After an underwhelming first offer, John Deere representatives claimed to have given their final offer on November 2, which did concede many of the demands of the union workers and was only narrowly defeated by 55 percent union workers voting against. Fifteen days later the union accepted John Deere’s third agreement with 61 percent in favor. This plan slightly reworks the CIPP on top of the agreed removal of no new pensions and the addition of close to 10 percent wage raises. 

Throughout the United States, this strike was just one part of a greater “Striketober” movement. Across the country, in 2021, there have been at least 184 strikes and more than 500 collective action protests stopping short of a strike. With a return to work being emphasized, many workers, from Kellogg’s employees to film production crews, found themselves in a greater position to demand more from the growing economy, especially as close to 4 million people left their jobs in August alone, shrinking the workforce.