Strike at John Deere

Thousands of workers at John Deere Deere have gone on strike, adding an exclamation point to what has been a year of increased labor activism.

This was inevitable once the rank and file voted 9 to 1 to reject the contract negotiated by the UAW.

The UAW negotiated a lousy deal, and this time, the rank and file demanded, and got a chance to see the full language of the contract, which given the recent history of concessions and corruption at the union, did not pass muster.  (Members are trying to change the election procedures to provide for directi elections of union leaders in response to this)

So now, we have the largest strike in the automotive industry in decades:

More than 10,000 Deere & Co. workers went on strike Thursday, the first major walkout at the agricultural machinery giant in more than three decades.

The union had said its members would walk off the job if no deal has been reached Wednesday. The vast majority of the union rejected a contract offer earlier this week that would have delivered 5% raises to some workers and 6% raises to others at the Illinois company known for its green tractors. 

………

Thirty-five years have passed since the last major Deere strike, but workers were emboldened to demand more this year after working long hours throughout the pandemic and because companies are facing worker shortages.

“Our members at John Deere strike for the ability to earn a decent living, retire with dignity and establish fair work rules,” said Chuck Browning, vice president and director of the UAW’s Agricultural Implement Department. “We stay committed to bargaining until our members’ goals are achieved.”

The UAW attempted to get the workers to agree to the abolition of pensions for new hires, small wage hikes, all while Deere profits, and Deer executive compensation, skyrocketed.

The UAW has been increasingly timid in its negotiations at least the 1980s, and with recent revelations of corruption at the highest level of the union, workers are much more skeptical of the deals that the union negotiates.