Strike at John Deere to end as UAW members ratify contract offer
CNN
More than 10,000 workers at John Deere will end a five-week strike and return to work after voting nearly two-to-one in favor of an offer very similar to one they rejected at the start of this month.
The United Auto Workers union announced Wednesday that 61% of members at Deere voted in favor of what the company had described as its last and best offer.
Both offers, the one that was rejected in a November 2 vote and the one accepted Wednesday, contain substantial gains for the union members. Both included a 10% immediate raise, an $8,500 signing bonus, additional 5% raises in the third and fifth year of the proposed six-year deal, and additional lump sum payments equal to 3% of pay in years two, four and six. In addition it restored a cost-of-living adjustment to protect workers from increases in consumer prices. Such clauses used to be common in union contracts but have become relatively rare in recent years.
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