UAW rejects second offer to end John Deere strike

Deere & Co. employees will remain on strike after the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) rejected a second contract proposal on Tuesday.

John Deere workers at 12 facilities in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas voted against the second proposal, according to a press release from Deere & Co. 

The vote for the second agreement was much closer than the first with 45 percent voting in favor of the proposal and 55 percent opposed, according to a brief UAW statement. 

Ninety percent of voters rejected the company’s initial proposal last month, according to The Des Moines Register. 

This rejection means workers will continue their strike that began on Oct. 14 to demand pay raises. It is unknown when the union and company officials will resume their negotiations.

“Pickets will continue and any updates will be provided through the local union,” UAW said in its statement.

The company’s release added that employees at Deere parts facilities in Denver and Atlanta voted in favor of another agreement with the same terms. Those terms included an immediate 10 percent pay increase and 30 percent pay increases over the term of workers’ contracts in addition to healthcare coverage and things like new paid parental leave, autism care and retirement benefits.

“Through the agreements reached with the UAW, John Deere would have invested an additional $3.5 billion in our employees, and by extension, our communities,”Deere Chief Administrative Officer Marc Howze said in a statement.

Howze added that the company “will execute the next phase of our Customer Service Continuation Plan.”

The Hill has reached out to UAW and to Deere & Co. for comment.